Boat ferrying passengers arrives in St Martin's via alternative route

People arrive in Teknaf by trawler from St Martin on Thursday, but no cargo trawlers are operating

Passenger transportation to St Martin’s island has resumed on a limited scale through alternative route with tight security after a seven-day halt.

Firing from the Myanmar border halted passenger and cargo vessels, disrupting emergency travel and goods transportation from Cox's Bazar's Teknaf Upazila to the island for seven days.

People arrived in Teknaf by boat from St Martin’s island on Thursday, but no cargo trawlers were operating.

Adnan Chowdhury, the Upazila executive officer or UNO, told reporters in the afternoon that over 300 people departed for Teknaf on three boats from the jetty ghat of St Martin's island at 1pm under the protection of Border Guard Bangladesh and the Coast Guard.

The boats reached the Munder Dale seashore at Teknaf around 3pm, but rough sea conditions prevented direct disembarkation, he said.

Later, dinghy boats were sent to the vessels stationed a short distance from the shore, and the people were transferred to the shore using these boats, he added.

Khorshed Alam, panel chairman of St Martin's union, said, "The island faced a food crisis after people and goods stopped arriving for seven days. Now, there's relief as vessel movement has resumed. The boats will return with supplies for the island's residents in Teknaf."

The coastal areas including Teknaf were relatively calm over the past month amid the war situation in Rakhine State of Myanmar but some St Martin-bound boats in the Naf River and the Bay of Bengal’s Naikhongdia Point were shot from the Myanmar side on Jun 5, 8 and 11.

The incidents caused panic in the area, leading to the isolation of St Martin's island from Teknaf and Cox's Bazar.

Meanwhile, a Myanmar Navy vessel was spotted in the Naf River on Wednesday afternoon. After that, loud explosions were intermittently heard in adjacent areas to Teknaf including Shah Pari island at night from the Myanmar side of the border.

The suspension of services left more than 10,000 residents of the isolated island facing a shortage of daily necessities, including food.

The island with plenty of tourism-centric establishments is accessible only by water, with residents depending on trawlers that navigate the Teknaf-St Martin’s route to transport food products and other essential supplies.

Considering the situation the Cox's Bazar district administration held an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening and took the decision to resume passenger and cargo boat operations from Thursday.

As part of the decision, three boats arrived in Teknaf from St Martin's island in the afternoon, but no boats travelled from Teknaf to the coral island on that day, according to UNO Adnan.

Usually, boats or ships bound for St Martin's island depart from the Domdomia terminal in Teknaf and return there from the island.

Due to the current situation, the boats are using an alternative route via the Bay of Bengal to reach the Munder Dale coast of Sabrang Union.

Md Yamin Hossain, additional district magistrate of Cox's Bazar, said traders would use large ships from Nuniarchhara terminal to transport goods, with the administration ensuring security.

Additionally, passengers traveling on trawlers through the Bay of Bengal have been reported to carry goods, ensuring there will be no food shortage, he said.