Shipping Minister Sheikh Rabiul Alam has ordered legal action against companies that kept imported food grains stored on lighter vessels in the river instead of unloading them at designated warehouses within the stipulated time.
The directive came this morning when the minister, during a surprise inspection, spotted several lighter vessels, carrying imported wheat and maize, anchored on the Dhaleshwari river in Muktarpur area of Munshiganj.
Although the food grains were supposed to be stored at the importers’ warehouses, they had been kept on the river for six to 18 days, said Rokshana Khairun Nesa, special officer and executive magistrate of the Department of Shipping.
She said the minister instructed the authorities to take legal action, including filing regular cases, against the companies concerned.
Earlier, on February 3, former shipping adviser M Sakhawat Hossain had warned at an inter-ministerial meeting that strict legal measures would be taken if goods were not unloaded from lighter vessels within three days of reaching the jetty.
Lieutenant Commander Dickson Chowdhury, deputy nautical surveyor of the Department of Shipping, said three lighter vessels were found anchored on the Dhaleshwari during the inspection. These vessels, used to transport cargo from mother vessels, had remained anchored for six to 18 days.
He said the food-laden vessels were carrying cargo under companies named Madina Group, SS Trading, Bismillah Traders and Aman Group.
“In many cases, warehouses remain full, so companies use vessels as floating storage. In some instances, there may be dishonest motives -- such as delaying unloading to release the goods later when prices rise, aiming to make extra profit. However, in such situations, vessel owners suffer losses,” he said.
Considering these issues, the Department of Shipping has formed a taskforce and is conducting regular drives. Over the past one and a half months, it carried out inspection on 838 vessels in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Jashore and other parts of the country, he added.
