Indian vessel, on transit trial run, leaves Ctg port

Indian vessel MV Trans Samudera carrying eight tonnes of tea leaves in a container left Chattogram Port on Wednesday, 34 days after it came to Bangladesh under a transit deal.

This consignment is part of a trial run to implement the 2018 agreement on using the ports and land routes of Bangladesh to transport goods to and from the northeastern part of India, according to a statement from the Assistant High Commission of India in Chattogram.

The current trial run is being conducted on the Dawki–Tamabil–Chattogram route.

Officials of Mango Line, local agent of the MV Samudera, said the vessel is carrying a consignment of eight tonne tea. 

Mango Line Managing Director Mohammad Habib told The Business Standard that the vessel left the Chattogram Port on Wednesday morning with 130 Twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) including eight tonne tea.  

On 6 September, MV Trans Samudera, reached Chattogram port with a test consignment of transit goods under the transit agreement signed between the two neighbouring countries. At that time, it could not sail towards the Shyama Prasad Mukherji Port in Kolkata due to a technical glitch and required repair works. 

The container loaded with TMT Steel, weighing 25 tonnes, has been transported to the northeastern state of Assam via a land port in Sylhet.

The consignment of tea as return cargo was loaded in the container at Dawki LC station, and reached the Chattogram Port on 15 September through Tamabil LC station for further shipment to its final destination in Kolkata.

With transshipment of these two consignments, the trial run of five routes for transiting Indian goods from Kolkata to north eastern states of India using the seaports of Bangladesh will be completed.

The first trial run was held on Jul 21, 2020, on the Chattogram-Akhaura-Agartala route.

On 25 October 2018, India and Bangladesh signed an agreement to allow India to use Bangladesh‍‍`s two seaports – Chattogram and Mongla – as transit points to carry goods to-and-from India‍‍`s north-eastern states.

A standard operating procedure (SOP) was signed in this regard – one year after a meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi – in New Delhi on 5 October 2019.

Bangladesh and India are now at the final stage of operationalization of the agreement to use Chittagong and Mongla ports for transit of goods to and from India. 

The agreement was signed between Bangladesh and India in 2018.

Following completion of trial runs, a necessary permanent standing order or notification would now be issued by the government of Bangladesh for the operationalization and regular movement of goods under this agreement, officials said.