Following the Department of Shipping’s re-establishment of a controlling structure, the cost of shipping commodities on lighter vessels is anticipated to increase, which has ship owners and importers concerned about possible syndicate dominance.
The new policy was put into effect once the serial system was eliminated in 2023, allowing transit costs across 34 rivers to drop by 20 per cent. Stakeholders are now concerned that the latest revisions would reverse these gains.
In the past, competitive pricing resulted from freight rate negotiations between importers and vessel owners. This process has been interrupted, nevertheless, by the establishment of the Bangladesh Water Transport Coordination Cell (BWTCC). The BWTCC, which will be supervised by three associations of lighter vessel owners, will provide the operating environment for vessel owners under the new arrangement. The director general of the Department of Shipping is the chair of a 10-member supervisory committee that has been established to oversee the cell’s operations.
The BWTCC was created after the High Court ruled in 2022 that a prior transport strategy from 2013 was unlawful. Under the new regulation, importers no longer have the freedom to choose their lighter vessels and bargain for lower prices.
Speaking on behalf of the Inland Vessel Owners Association of Chittagong, Parvez Ahmed outlined the difficulties presented by the new regulation, pointing out that many industrial owners have not registered their vessels in their names. He emphasised that this might result in higher transportation expenses and delivery delays, which would ultimately hurt both consumers and businesses.
According to business executives, the BWTCC changed from being a coordinating agency to a controlling entity, imposing more fees and restrictions that eventually increased transportation expenses.
The new policy was created following discussions with three ship owners’ organisations, according to Commodore Mohammad Maksud Alam, director general of the Department of Shipping, who denied that it was created to favour a particular syndicate.
