Ctg port turnaround time on the decline

The turnaround time for all types of ships at Chittagong Port declined sharply to 5.12 days in 2011, the lowest in four years.
A fall in such time for container vessels to 3.21 days last year contributed to the overall reduction in turnaround time, a key indicator to measure a port's performance.
For the last couple of months, the premier seaport has been experiencing low turnaround time, which is the time a ship takes to arrive and leave a port after discharging goods.
In January this year, the turnaround time for container vessels fell to 3.04 days from 3.07 days in December last year.
Port users and officials linked the decline of time to the appointment of private berth operators at the six jetties under the General Cargo Berth areas that handle both cargo and containers.
Improvement in labour management is another factor behind the fall.
“Overall productivity has improved,” said Golam Sarwar, director in charge of traffic of Chittagong Port that handles more than 80 percent of the country's external trade.
Efficiency in daily ship handling improved although more large sized vessels arrived at the port last year than the previous year, Sarwar said.
In 2010, turnaround or stay time for ships was 6.12 days, up from 5.25 days in the previous year and 5.63 days during 2008, according to Chittagong Port statistics.
“It's a good sign. The decline in stay time for ships means a reduction in our cost,” said Ahsanul Huq Chowdhury, executive director of MGH Group that represents seven shipping lines.
He linked the improvement in turnaround time to the better performance of the berth operators. A container vessel can now leave the port in 48 hours, he said.
“We have no complaints about port performances now. The only problem is that we are facing a rise in cost after the introduction of automated container terminal management system by the port authority.”
"The frequency of workers' movement like protest, demonstration in the port has come down. The port is now more active than before,” said Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, first vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
“We now get delivery of our imported raw materials earlier than before,” he said. “It has become favourable for us to meet lead time.”
The port handled 1,392,104 TEUs (twenty equivalent units) of containers in 2011, up 3.62 percent from the previous year. Cargo handling also rose in the same period, according to port data.

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