Transportation of goods from the mother vessels at the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port resumed at 4pm yesterday after the Coaster Owners' Association called off their strike following a meeting with the port authority.

The lightering activities were disrupted for 40 hours due to the wildcat strike enforced by the association on Tuesday night demanding increase in freight charges.

However, the association representing a section of the owners of

some 800 coasters agreed to call off their strike following a meeting with all concerned at the chamber of Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) chairman in the afternoon.

Chaired by CPA Chairman AMM Shahadat Hussain the meeting was attended by representatives from Coaster Owners Association, Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, C&F Association, Bangladesh Master Stevedores Association and port users.

The meeting decided to form a nine-member committee headed by a representative from Chittagong

chamber to fix-up a new rate of freight charges. The committee will submit a report within a week, meeting sources said.

Lightering activities of all nine vessels waiting at the outer anchorage with imported goods, including fertiliser, cement and industrial raw materials, remained totally suspended during the strike as several hundred coasters stayed idle.

Suspension in handling of imported goods, specially industrial raw materials, hampered production in different industrial units, sources said.