A 40-foot container carrying 668 bales of fabric worth around Tk3 crore has gone missing from Chittagong Port after being unloaded on August 15, with port authorities investigating the incident.
Chittagong Port Authority Secretary Syed Refayat Hamim told Dhaka Tribune on Monday that the authority had received a complaint about the missing container.
“We have received a letter stating that a container is missing. An investigation is ongoing,” he said.
Container No MRSU-8692827 was unloaded from the vessel MV MCC Danang at the NCT-2 berth of Chittagong Port on August 15.
On August 22, clearing and forwarding (C&F) firm SRS Syndicate, on behalf of the importer, submitted the bill of entry through the customs ASYCUDA World system.
After all customs duties, port charges and other fees were paid, the importer went to the CCT yard on August 30 to collect the container. However, port authorities could not locate it.
The authorities then asked the C&F agent to search for the container. Staff of SRS Syndicate searched various areas of the port from August 30 to September 2 but failed to find it.
The matter was subsequently brought to the attention of the terminal manager, ATO and TO.
SRS Syndicate owner Md Hafizur Rahman submitted a written complaint to the chairman of the Chittagong Port Authority on September 2.
In the complaint, he said the container could not be found when they went to collect it after paying all customs duties and port charges.
The container holds fabric rolls imported by Gold Star Garments, a Savar-based company, for garment production under a 100% export-oriented manufacturing arrangement.
The company is now facing difficulties as it has not received the raw materials on time, according to the complaint.
It could suffer significant losses if it fails to complete production on schedule and deliver the export goods to foreign buyers within the stipulated time, the complaint said.
