World News | Bangladesh's Mongla Seaport Receives 1st Indian Ship with Transshipment Goods for Landlocked Northeast India

Dhaka, Aug 8 (PTI) Bangladesh's southwestern Mongla seaport on Monday received the first Indian vessel with cargo to be transshipped by road to India's landlocked northeastern region under a bilateral agreement signed four years ago.

MV Rishad Rayhan arrived from Kolkata Port under a trial run of the transshipment under a bilateral agreement on the use of Bangladesh's main northeastern Chittagong seaport and the Mongla port for movement of goods from India (ACMP), Mongla Port officials said.

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“MV Rishad Rayhan is the first Indian ship that anchored in our port with goods to be transshipped by road to north-eastern Indian region,” Mongla Port Authority chairman Rear Admiral Mohammad Musa told newsmen.

The ship, which carried 16,380 tonnes of iron pipes and 8.5 tonnes of prefoam, was received at a ceremony attended by Indian high commission officials in Dhaka, including Assistant High Commissioner Indrajit Sagar.

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The first Indian ship with transshipment goods under the agreement, however, reached the Chittagong port last month carrying iron and pulse which were subsequently transported to India's Tripura and Assam through Akhaura-Agartala land port.

Bangladesh officials said the customs authorities and security agencies of the country were tasked to oversee the safe journey of the containers to the Indian border.

The two countries inked an initial transshipment deal in 2015, followed by a detailed agreement in 2018 and Bangladesh and Indian officials subsequently developed a standard operating procedure (SoP) for its execution.

According to Bangladesh's shipping ministry officials, India would run four identical trial runs ahead of full implementation of the transshipment agreement.

The land route between Kolkata and key cities in northeast states is more than 1,200 km and the use of Chittagong and Mongal ports for trans-shipment will cut the distance to almost half.

The trans-shipment arrangement will facilitate the movement of heavier cargo at a lower cost and also boost business services and the logistics sector in Bangladesh.

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