Bangladesh suspends maritime port operations, water transport as cyclone nears

The authorities have suspended all sorts of activities at three maritime ports and inland water transportation as cyclonic storm Bulbul over the Bay of Bengal is nearing the coasts.

After the Met Office raised the warning level at Mongla and Payra ports to danger signal No. 7, and No. 6 at Chattogram on Friday evening, the authorities suspended operations at the three ports.

The authorities suspended all operations at Chittagong Port on Friday evening until further notice after the Met Office raised Cyclone Bulbul warning level to danger signal.

All the ships have been asked to move from the jetties to the outer anchorage.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority announced the suspension of riverine transport services until further notice as the storm reached within 500 kilometres of the coasts.

A cautionary signal No. 2 has been hoisted for inland water, BIWTA spokesman Mobarak Hossain Majumder told bdnews24.com. 

Cox’s Bazar port has been asked to keep hoisted cautionary signal No. 4.

There were 18 ships at the jetties of in Chattogram while 149 others were secured in the outer anchorage, including 53 that had been waiting to come to the jetties, the port’s Secretary Omor Faruk said.

“All operational activities, including loading and offloading, have been suspended. The lighter vessels have been asked to move upstream of the Karnaphuli river and remain alert,” he said.

The authorities suspended all operations at Chittagong Port on Friday evening until further notice after the Met Office raised Cyclone Bulbul warning level to danger signal.

As many as 14 ships were loading or unloading goods in Mongla, but the operations were halted after the warning signal was raised, the port’s Harbour Master Sheikh Fakhar Uddin said.

There was no ship, but 12 tugboats, in Payra. The port was closed before the warning signal was raised.

Md Mohiuddin Khan, a director of the port, said a ship had been scheduled to bring coal from Indonesia on Saturday but it was asked not to come now due to the storm.   

The storm has triggered mild rains in the coastal areas and other parts of the country.

Wing Commander Sarwar-E-Zaman, the manager of Shah Amanat International Airport in Chattogram, said the condition was normal until Friday night, but they were ready to tackle any situation if the weather worsened due to the storm.