Unscrupulous traders have once again started misusing lighter vessels as “floating warehouses” to stockpile essential commodities in an effort to create artificial shortages and drive up prices. According to port sources, this practice usually intensifies ahead of Ramadan, but this year it has begun earlier than expected.
In response, the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA) carried out an operation on Thursday at the outer anchorage of the Bay of Bengal and the Karnaphuli river. Six lighter vessels loaded with about 7,000 tonnes of wheat were fined for remaining anchored for 15 days instead of unloading within the required time. Authorities also ordered them to leave port waters immediately.
CPA Secretary Omar Faruk confirmed the operation, saying, “We regularly send magistrate-led teams to monitor whether lighter vessels are idling unnecessarily or engaging in illegal activities. Thursday’s operation was part of routine monitoring, though sometimes such drives are conducted based on confidential information.”
Industry insiders say importers often store goods when local prices fall or when export booking rates in foreign markets drop, waiting for prices to rise before releasing them. While importers traditionally use warehouses for storage, in recent years many have shifted to keeping goods aboard lighter vessels to reduce costs and avoid oversight from government agencies and business representatives. This allows them to obscure stock levels and artificially manipulate demand. Items such as wheat, rice, lentils, edible oil, sugar, and mustard are most commonly stockpiled this way.
Imported goods usually arrive at Chattogram port on large mother vessels and are then transferred to smaller lighter ships for transport through 38 river routes. The Water Transport Cell (WTC) estimates that nearly 2,000 lighter vessels currently transport goods from the port, making river routes cheaper than road transport. While a truck carries 10 to 13 tonnes of cargo, a lighter vessel can carry 1,000 to 5,000 tonnes, cutting costs significantly.
Port regulations require lighter ships to leave within 72 hours of unloading goods from mother vessels, but many remain anchored for 15 to 20 days or longer. Authorities discovered that this extended stay was being used as a tactic to hoard goods at sea.
In Chattogram’s wholesale market of Khatunganj, wheat prices have recently dropped by Tk 100 to Tk 150 per maund. Canadian wheat is currently selling at Tk 1,530 per maund, while Russian wheat is priced at Tk 1,370. Traders said some importers deliberately hold goods on lighter vessels in hopes of reversing such price declines.
Thursday’s operation was officially described as a “special drive to prevent attempts to create artificial shortages by hoarding goods on floating vessels.” Alongside the six fined ships owned by Gazipur Logistics and Shipping’s vessel Umme Kulsum, several other vessels were also penalised for safety, licence, and fitness irregularities, according to port sources.
