1. Maximum Cargo Weight Limitation in Port

• For 20'GP = 24 tons (including tare weight).
• For 40'GP/HC = 30.48 tons (including tare weight).

2. Road Limitation

• There is no road Limitation for transportation of containers to/from port area.

3. Terminal Limitation

• Gantry cranes facility in the Chittagong are available. 4x45 MT RMG (Rail Mounted Gantry) in operation from Oct’2006. Average productivity is 20 moves/per gantry/hour.
• Straddle carrier capacity maximum 35 tons and RTG ( 25 Nos capacity 40 tons)
• Reefer Plug Capacity in the Terminal 400 (In emergency - additional extensions can be given for another 250 connections) 
• Non-working Days For 2009 for Office:
• Muharram(Ashura) (08 January)
• Shaheed Day (21 February)
• Eid-e-Miladunnabi* (10 March)
• Independence & National Day (26 March)
• Bengali New Years Day(14 April)
• May Day (01 May)
• Buddha Purnima (09 May)
• Shab-e-Barat* (07 August)
• Janmaastami (13 August)
• National Mourning Day (15 August)
• Shab-e-Qadar*& Jamatul Bida  (18 September)
• Eidul-Ul-Fitr* (20 to 22 September)
• Durga Puja (28 September)
• Eid-Ul-Azha* ( 27 to 29 November)
• Victory day (16 December)
• Christmas Day (25 December)
• Muharram(Ashura) ( 28 December)
• Non working days for Port Operations: 
• Shab-e-barat (Night only)
• Eid-ul-Azha (24 hours)
• Eid-ul-Fitre (24 hours)
• Shab-e-Qadar (Night only)
  
  *Subject to appearance of Moon

4. Dangerous Cargo

• Arms, ammunitions and all explosives needs advance permission for direct delivery. IMO class 1 – 1.9, / 4.1(Red Phosphorus), 5.2 (Organic Peroxide D’Cumyl peroxide /Methyl Ethyl Ketone Per oxide) & for class7 – 7.9 port will not allow to take cargo delivery inside port. Consignee have to take these cargo directly from vessel hook to out side port for delivery. No special permission required for Class – 3 onwards cargo.
• No extra Port charge for DG cargo.

5. Customs Requirements

• Bangladesh Customs inaugurated the “Automation programme of Customs” w,e,f 06 October 2009. Customs website is  www.nbr-ctg.com/cchahomebeta .
• IGM (Import General Manifest, has to be submitted on line in Customs website & is required to be submitted 24 hours prior to vessel arrival at Chittagong. Following infos to be there in the IGM.
• Bill of Lading Number
• Full name and address of Inbound Consignee/Notify Party in the country are necessary. P.O Box is not acceptable.
• Container/Seal Number
• Number of Packages/Nature of Packing/Commodity and commodity code mentioned in custom’s website “ www.nbr-ctg.com”.
• Gross/Nett Weight for cargo & container
• Marks and Numbers
• Status (FCL/LCL)
• In case of Dangerous Cargo, in addition to the above data, IMO Class, UN No. Packing group are required to be declared and approval obtained prior to loading.
• For DG cargo – Full proper shipping name of the commodity must be clearly mentioned. (e.g.: Dyes, Textile chemical, is not enough info to declare. Actual name of the commodity is required to avoid permission for DG cargo from authority. POL colleagues must note this carefully.
• All copies B/Ls must show the H.S. Code No. for goods/commodities to be manifested in Custom which must be provided by the shipper in SI.
• Amendment and supplementation of manifest must be made subsequently to filing of the manifest, with ample Document support.
• 9 commodities are allowed to devan at off-docks, as per consignees request. Items are Wheat, Rice, Rape Seed, Waste Paper, Chick Peas, Pulses, Raw Cotton, Poultry Feeds and Metal Scrap.
• Raw Cotton is allowed for direct delivery from vessel hook point to Private Off-docks/Consignee Premises (As manifested)
• Other 8 commodities are also allowed for direct delivery to Off-docks per Consignee request.
• If Import cargo is not taken delivery by Consignee, then after 30 days of arrival at Port, cargo will be moved to Customs Auction List. Custom will then look for bidder to take the cargo & release container. This takes months & some times Years ( For both Dry & reefer undelivered cargo). If reefer cargo is not taken delivery, Port deducts “Electric consumption & monitoring fee @ USD 9 per day from the Carrier. No mercy to this charge.
• That means for a reefer box (Undelivered & in Auction list) if it remains for example I year, we will have to pay to port Terminal USD 9 x 365 days = USD 3285 + 15% vat.
• Very Lengthy process for any container for Re-Shipment.

• 28 days free time allowed for T/S cargo at Chittagong, Bangladesh.
• EGM (Export General Manifest") is to be submitted on-line in Custom’s website within 7 days of Feeder vessel sailing out of Chittagong port.
• Before July’09 - There was no compulsion for Forwarders to be Licensed (Registered in Customs). But by now maximum forwarders applied for Customs License & got it.

By this they can now submit IGM on-line supplement to our IGM declared by their name as consignee. That means they become liable now for any discrepancy of cargo (e.g.; Shot/excess/ mis-declaration /wrong mark/weight etc..., Previously Customs used to hold carrier as Liable.

• For Forwarder shipments at POL, here after license to forwarders, they issue D/O to actual consignee after paying our charges & Line detention.

• All POL colleagues MUST ensure that  the forwarder from whom they are accepting a

A cargo booking, their counter part (Local Bangladesh agent of them) is registered (Licensed) by Customs. Otherwise Carrier is liable for any short/excess/wrong cargo declaration in Bangladesh.  To check whether the POL Forwarder counterpart in Bangladesh is Licensed or not – just open the website “www.nbr-ctg.com/cchahomebeta” & find out his name is there in the Customs Licensed Forwarder List or not. If name is not there-better not to accept those cargo bookings. Otherwise we face problem here.

Additional Very Important point:

• For Import cargo – If the consignee comes to us & produce his HB/L duly endorsed by the Bank & if the Freight shows “PREPAID” – Then we have to issue D/O . This is NEW law  set by Joint Task Force & being followed as compulsion.  Sometimes POL colleagues adv us to hold the cargo because i) Forwarder/Shipper has not surrendered our OB/L for any reason or ii) Freight shows Prepaid – but actually not yet received by POL Colleague at Load port.   So – as per new local rule, whether OB/L surrendered or not, Freight actually received or not at POL –  If the HB/L is written “Freight Prepaid” & Bank endorsed, We can not hold cargo release. If we hold, consignee directly goes to Port & basis of the new local rule, port allows cargo delivery without waiting for our D/O.  All MLOs protested about this- but this is the new rule.