Establish deep-sea port to connect neighbours
Says ex-DG of shipping
Former director general of Department of Shipping Fazlur Rahman Chowdhury underscored the need for establishing a deep-sea port to facilitate connectivity with neighbouring countries and keep pace with ever growing international trade and commerce.
“Deep-sea port is a must since existing Chittagong and Mongla ports would become secondary in the future due to frequent arrivals of bigger merchant ships,” he told The Daily Star.
Fazlur, now serving as an advisor to General Organisation of Sea Ports of Bahrain, presented a keynote paper titled “Maritime Bangladesh: Today and Tomorrow” at Chittagong Port Authority Training Centre Auditorium on February 15.
Nautical Institute Bangladesh; Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) Bangladesh and Bangladesh Merchant Marine Officers' Association jointly organised the seminar.
Commandant of Bangladesh Marine Academy Dr Sajid Hussain presided over the seminar.
Fazlur emphasised on permitting transit facilities to fully utilise Chittagong Port and benefit from regional business, which would boost the country's economy.
He also opined to consider the ship-breaking sector as an industry and urged to ensure workers' safety and environmental preservation there. Fazlur, who was also a former chief nautical officer, stressed on developing the existing academic curriculum for mariners by adopting the latest international training methods, specifically by merging the courses on deck and engine.
Presently Marine Academy in Chittagong provides separate courses for the deck and engine cadets, he said.
Fazlur, arriving in Bangladesh on February 13 for a short visit, went to Western Marine Shipyard on February 14.
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