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Shipping agents operating in Bangladesh have yet again sought an amendment to the Flag Vessel (Protection) Act, allowing the submission of no objection certificates for incoming foreign vessels a few days in advance, instead of the existing regulation of 15 days.
For every foreign vessel to be used for imports, the ship owner – through a local agent – must collect NOCs from both the Bangladesh Shipping Corporation and Bangladesh Ocean Going Ship Owners’ Association, certifying that no local flag carriers are available for the same job.
Those NOCs are required for securing Certificates of Waiver, and this is mandatory for all foreign merchant vessels bringing goods into the country. The Bangladesh Shipping Agents’ Association (BSAA) however says getting the certificates should be the importers' responsibility.
Agents raised the demand again after the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) on Wednesday fined the Conveyor Shipping Lines agency Tk 5 lakh for transporting goods on a foreign-flagged ship without a waiver certificate.
The department also warned of strict enforcement of the law. The move however faced concerns and protests from the BSAA, which later issued a letter seeking amendment of the Flag Vessel (Protection) Act to the authorities.
In their letter, the BSAA claimed only the importers can know in detail when their goods will be loaded and shipped, and it is not possible for the agents to learn this information 15 days in advance.
Speaking to The Business Post, BSAA’s President Syed Mohammad Arif said, “The Certificate of Waiver system is a decades-old practice which is no longer needed under the current context.
“The country’s import volume is now much higher, and some of the shipments are arriving quickly and from short distances. So, in many cases, it is difficult for the shipping agents to collect Certificates of Waiver 15 days in advance.”
Arif said it should be the importers’ responsibility to collect Certificates of Waiver from Bangladeshi agencies such as the shipping corporation.
“We approached the government in this regard on multiple occasions, and recently held a meeting with the shipping ministry, but we have yet to receive a positive response, he added.
What are the regulations?
Bangladesh introduced the waiver certificate system for foreign vessels coming to Bangladesh in the 1980s, and the law was amended in 2019.
There are around 80 Bangladeshi flag vessels in the international route, but the number of currently active ships is 75. Ships from international routes complete their voyage in Bangladeshi ports more than 5,000 times a year, MMD and BSAA sources said.
According to the law, if there are any Bangladeshi ships available at a foreign port, then the goods being shipped to Bangladesh will have to be transported by the domestic ships on a priority basis.
If there are no domestic ships available, the foreign ships can then transport goods to Bangladesh.
The Bangladesh Shipping Corporation and Bangladesh Ocean Going Ship Owners’ Association provide the NOCs to shipping agents, certifying that there are no Bangladeshi flagships in a particular port in another country.
Then, the MMD’s principal officer then issues a waiver certificate to that vessel on the basis of the NOCs. Only ships with the waiver certificate will be able to load goods bound for Bangladeshi ports.
The MV BBC Peru, operating under the Conveyor Shipping Lines agency, loaded and transported goods to Mongla Port from a European port in August this year without a waiver certificate.
The MMD had sought an explanation from that shipping agency in this regard. Later on Wednesday, the department fined the agency Tk 5 lakh after not finding their explanation satisfactory.
MMD’s Principal Officer Gias Uddin said, “The ship was carrying goods to a Bangladeshi port without a waiver certificate. As long as this law remains in force, it is routine work to implement it properly.”
On November 24, the MMD warned all stakeholders that anyone providing false information about such matters will face strict action.
