The container vessel Haian City, which was damaged severely from the collision with an oil tanker in the Bay of Bengal on 14 April, remains stranded for the last seven days.
The 1,400 TEU feeder ship, operated by Samudera Shipping Line Ltd, has 718 TEU laden and 387 TEU empty boxes onboard, creating uncertainty for the exporters about the time that their goods will reach their destination.
The exporters fear that due to the delayed arrival of containers, buyers may not accept their cargo and ask for a price cut.
The Vietnam-flagged boxship is still under the survey of P&I Club and thereafter the classification society will conduct a further survey. Then the vessel may be brought to the Chittagong port and undergo necessary repairs.
Bringing the balance of the vessel by rearranging boxes remains another tough task, thus uncertainty remained about when the ship can sail again.
Water has already entered the vessel's cargo hold, due to the serious damage caused by the collision, and there are fears about cargo damage.
"The owners of Haian City are currently engaging their insurers and adjusters to assess the overall damage and costs incurred during this voyage. Haian City is still at outer anchorage of Chittagong," Samudera Shipping Line said in a statement.
The shipping company reported that "the vessel’s cargo hold No.4 & No.5 was flooded due to underwater puncture of port side hull and containers loaded in the aforementioned cargo holds were affected."
Samudera added that due to the lack of safe access, the extent of container damage could not be determined.
An investigation committee is formed under Bangladesh Mercantile Marine Office to investigate the cause of the collision incident to assess the losses and determine the liabilities.
“SSL is working closely with Haian City’s owners and other stakeholders to obtain latest development. Once a decision and/or further steps to salvage the vessel are concluded, SSL will share the updates with our partners and customers,” noted Samudera.
A senior shipping sector official said bringing back the vessel to the port jetty will be a task of several weeks, as the port authority may not agree to give it berthing breaking the schedule, while 8-10 container vessels wait at the outer anchorage of the port daily.
However, the vessel may fail to sail without rearranging containers onboard, which can be done only if the ship takes re-birth at the port jetty.
Sharar Nayel
Asia Correspondent
