The Minister of State for Shipping and Chemical & Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya, on Thursday, in a written reply in Lok Sabha, informed about the existing Ports of Call between India and Bangladesh under the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade (PIWT&T).
What are ‘Ports Of Call’?
A Port of Call means an intermediate stop for a ship on its scheduled journey for cargo operation or taking on supplies or fuel. As Per the shipping Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) regulation a “port of call” can be defined as the port of a country where cargo ship halts to discharge or load the cargo.
The Ports of Call in the two countries on Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route namely are Kolkata, Haldia, Pandu, Karimganj, Silghat and Dhubri in India, and Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla, Sirajganj, Ashugani, Pangaon in Bangladesh.
Mr. Mandaviya informed that the Port of Mongla is declared as Port of Call under PIWT&T and the Chattogram port is not a part of PIWT&T.
Both, the port of Mongla and Chattogram are declared as Ports of Call under the “Coastal Shipping Agreement” between India and Bangladesh.
Also, India and Bangladesh have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), Agreement and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the use of Chattogram Port and Mongla Port for movement of goods to and from India.
