CPA rejoinder
The authority said that while the Chattogram Custom House referred to 250 consignments in its letter, the actual number was 247
The Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) has sent a rejoinder to two reports titled "Mysterious case of 250 high-risk, loaded containers going missing from Ctg Port" and "Ctg Port, customs locked in blame game over 'missing' containers, compensation claims," published by The Business Standard on 6 and 7 July, describing the reports as "false, speculative and baseless".
In the rejoinder issued on 7 July, the CPA said the reports were based on "unsubstantiated sources" and had attempted to damage the image of the country's premier seaport.
The authority said that while the Chattogram Custom House referred to 250 consignments in its letter, the actual number was 247, comprising 164 FCL (full container load) involving 293 box containers and 83 LCL (less-than container-load) cargo containers.
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According to the CPA, of the 293 FCL box containers, 88 were delivered through customs out-pass, 70 were transferred to private inland container depots (ICDs) in accordance with the Import General Manifest (IGM), 131 remain in different port yards, while four container numbers contained incorrect prefixes or digits.
Regarding the 83 LCL consignments, the CPA said eight had already been delivered through customs out-pass, 35 remain at different container freight stations (CFSs) and sheds, while the information relating to the remaining 40 consignments does not match the bill of lading numbers provided by customs.
The authorities further said the containers and cargo had already been handed over to customs "by paper" for auction and that customs had been informed of these findings through official correspondence.
