Cargo ship carrying Pakistani goods arrives at Chittagong anchorage

A container ship from Karachi arrived at the outer anchorage of Chattogram port this afternoon, carrying 825 TEUs of import containers from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. This marks the second visit of the Panama-flagged vessel Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan to the port. During its first trip on November 11, the ship brought 370 TEUs of import containers, with 297 TEUs from Pakistan and the remainder from the UAE. On this occasion, the vessel delivered 825 TEUs, equivalent to 780 containers. According to customs and port officials, 699 TEUs originated from Pakistan and 126 TEUs from Jebel Ali port in the UAE.

The cargo from Pakistan primarily included refined sugar and dolomite, essential for glass manufacturing. Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Secretary Md Omar Faruk stated that the ship reached the outer anchorage at around 5:00 pm and is scheduled to berth at a port jetty tomorrow morning. Based on the cargo manifest submitted to Chattogram Customs House, the ship carried 285 containers of refined sugar weighing 74.31 lakh tonnes, imported from Karachi port by companies such as Pran Dairy Limited, Savoy Ice Cream Factory Limited, Shehzad Food Products Ltd, and Broadway Marketing Co.

Additionally, glass manufacturers like Nasir Glass Industries Ltd, Nasir Float Glass Industries, and Akij Glass Industries Ltd imported 171 containers of natural dolomite and dolomite lumps. Industrial raw materials like soda ash were imported in 122 containers, while 47 containers of fabrics were destined for export-oriented readymade garment factories. The shipment also included nine containers of fresh potatoes weighing 2.62 lakh tonnes from Pakistan.

The cargo from Jebel Ali port consisted of home and kitchen appliances, dishwashers, refrigerators, lubricants, fresh dates, and firefighting equipment. The service was introduced by Dubai-based container ship operator Feeder Lines DMCC, connecting six countries along the vessel's route: Jebel Ali (UAE)-Karachi (Pakistan)-Chattogram (Bangladesh)-Belawan (Indonesia)-Port Klang (Malaysia)-Mundra (India)-Jebel Ali (UAE).

Regensea Lines Ltd, a subsidiary of Karnaphuli Limited, is the ship's local agent. Karnaphuli Limited is owned by Saber Hossain Chowdhury, a former minister and Awami League lawmaker.

The vessel is expected to depart Chattogram with over 1,000 TEUs of empty containers for its subsequent destinations.