Crane chaos in Chittagong

Local sources claim that this is the indirect result of a private company being given responsibility for quayside operations, while Chittagong Port Authority has retained operations in the yard.

Private-sector initiative was brought in by the government after port stevedores showed that they were incapable of achieving expected productivity levels, which languished around 10-12 boxes per hour.

The cranes now work for only four to five hours daily, because there are insufficient terminal tractors and/or straddle carriers to maintain a continuous feed of containers. Delays in getting export boxes to the quay have also lengthened vessel dwell time. Several vessels have diverted to the general cargo terminal or to the New Mooring container terminal in the port.

The strategy to deliberately undersupply the cranes was adopted by port workers, who undertook a series of wildcat strikes as from mid-December in protest at the arrival of private-sector management in the port.

Saif Powertec Limited, which operates the cranes, has written to the port authority outlining the deteriorating situation in the port. Despite problems with the heavily unionised workforce, the cranes are still handling 25-30 containers per hour when they are serviced correctly.