The “Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan” vessel that arrived at Chattogram Port from Karachi has brought industrial raw materials and consumer goods to Bangladesh.
The Panama-flagged vessel from the financial capital of Pakistan carried goods supplied by 18 exporters of Pakistan. It arrived at in Chattogram on November 11 and departed the following day, having discharged 370 containers weighing a total of 6,337 tonnes.
Previously, the goods from Pakistan used to arrive through transshipment ports in third countries.
The first-of-its-kind direct cargo vessel sparked significant curiosity about the goods it brought.
Regensea Lines Limited, a concern of Karnaphuli Group owned by the family of Awami League leader Saber Hossain Chowdhury, is the local agent of the vessel.
The group’s Senior Executive Director Anis Ud Dowla said the vessel arrived directly for the first time from Karachi as part of a mainline service launched through the Dubai-Karachi-Chattogram-Belawan route.
It departed for the next destination after discharging the cargoes, he added.
Additionally, a total of 115 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers of sodium carbonate or soda ash, a raw material for textile and other industries, were imported in the consignment, according to sources in the Chattogram port and customs.
Besides, 46 TEU containers of dolomite, 35 TEU containers of limestone, and 10 TEU containers of broken glass were brought.
In addition to raw materials such as fabrics and dyes, 42 containers of onions and 14 containers of potatoes were shipped for renowned business groups across the country.
Of the 370 containers, 297 were derived from Karachi and 73 from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Moreover, the vessel took away some 289 containers, with only one loaded with goods from Chattogram.
Bd-pratidin English/ Fariha Nowshin Chinika
