US security team to visit Ctg port next week

The United States Coast Guard is scheduled to send four members of its team to Bangladesh next week to monitor security issues and shipping facilities at the Chittagong port.

The team will be ensuring that the port is following the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, which was introduced by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).

The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is taking this visit very seriously in the wake of the recent fire at a private container yard, BM Container Depot, even though CPA officials say this is a routine visit by the US Coast Guard.

This will be the US security monitoring team’s first visit in two years, as they stopped making such visits during the Covid pandemic.

The US team will visit Chittagong port on June 21 and June 22 to inspect various security issues at port facilities, said CPA Secretary Omar Faruq. “We have enough preparation for the visit.”

“The US security team used to visit on a regular basis, but due to the Covid pandemic, they were unable to do so for two years,” he said.

The ISPS Code came into force in 2004 as an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention on maritime security arrangements for ships, ports, and government agencies.

It prescribes responsibilities to “detect security threats and take preventive measures against security incidents affecting ships or port facilities used in international trade.”

Ahead of the US security team’s visit, port authorities met with private container depot owners on Tuesday.

The meeting, which lasted for several hours, discussed in detail the implementation of the ISPS code in depots.

However, it is not confirmed that the US security team will visit any inland container depots (ICDs), said Ruhul Amin Sikder Biplob, secretary, Bangladesh Inland Container Depot Association (BICDA).