Chattogram Port suspends cargo handling as Cyclone Midhili hits coast

Ships have been instructed to move away to outer anchorage

Chattogram Port authorities have halted cargo handling after the Met Office issued the danger signal 6 for the country’s biggest maritime port with Cyclone Midhili crossing the southern coast.

“The ships at the jetty have been asked to move to the outer anchorage. Twelve ships have already done so. Another 10 will leave during the tide,” Omar Faruk, the port secretary, said on Friday. “Operations at the port are also suspended.”

Meanwhile, the small and medium-sized ships in the river port areas were asked to move toward the upstream.

In the latest bulletin, the Met Office said the cyclone was centred 415 km southwest of Chattogram Port at 9 am.

The Met Office asked the maritime ports of Payra and Mongla to hoist danger signal No. 7 and Chattogram and Cox's Bazar to follow No. 6. The cyclone is expected to complete the crossing by Friday evening.