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Shipping lines lose steam

Five suspend feeder vessel operations

Jasim Uddin Khan
Five Bangladeshi shipping lines have suspended their feeder vessel operations from Chittagong Port to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Colombo ports, largely because of sharp competition from global mainline operators.
Feeder vessels ply short distance and carry goods from small seaports to major seaports.
Government-owned Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) suspended its feeder operations on the three routes in June last year after it found the business nonviable.
“We have suspended our operations on these routs in
the face of fierce competition from global players,” said Kamrul Alam Rabbani, managing director of BSC.
Rabbani said the BSC runs short of vessels and the vessels it has are most of the time busy transporting government goods including rice and fertiliser.
The BSC shifted its focus from full-fledged commercial operations on the feeder routes to providing services mostly for the government.
The pioneer private sector shipping line in Bangladesh, QC Shipping Lines, also withdrew their ships earlier this year from the feeder routes.
"Mainline operators can easily sustain losses by adjusting total costs. But it is difficult
for feeder operators to stay in business as mainline operators decide the rates,” said Jamal Uddin Quader Chowdhury, director of QC Shipping Lines.
Chowdhury said government policy, port charges and unstable fuel costs had forced them to withdraw services from the routes.
A high official of HRC Shipping has claimed that his company is continuing operations as it has own ships. But he said profit margins went down.
If the government, the official said, does not review its policy on shipping, no local operators will be able to stay on.
The other shipping lines that suspended their services include Prominent Shipping
Lines, Columbia Shipping Lines and Javasta Shipping Lines.
Mainline operators Maerskline, PIL, OEL, APL and Sea Consortium operate most of the vessels from Chittagong to other ports.
Asked, a high official of the shipping ministry said the government has no restriction on any company to run the business.
"Actually in the age of an open global business pattern, we cannot set policy providing special benefits for local firms," the official said.
Local representatives of Maerskline refused to comment.
jasim@thedailystar.net