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A 40-foot container carrying 668 bales of fabric worth nearly Tk3 crore has gone missing at Chattogram Port, raising concerns among the importer and garment industry stakeholders.
The container, bearing number MRSU-8692827, was imported for Savar-based Gold Star Garments as raw material for its 100% export-oriented production. It was unloaded from the MV MCC Danang at the port’s NCT-2 berth on August 15.
According to sources, the importer’s C&F agent, SRS Syndicate, submitted the bill of entry through the Customs ASYCUDA World system on August 22 to clear the shipment.
After paying all customs and port charges, the C&F agent went to the port’s CCT yard on August 30 to take delivery of the container. However, port officials could neither locate the container nor complete the delivery and asked the agent to search for it.
The C&F agent searched for the container from August 30 to September 2 and informed the terminal manager, assistant terminal officer and terminal officer about the issue each day, sources said.
On September 2, SRS Syndicate owner Md Hafizur Rahman wrote to the port chairman seeking action over the missing container.
“We paid all customs and port charges and went to collect the container, but it could not be found. More than a week has passed,” Hafizur said in the letter.
He said the fabric was intended entirely for export-oriented garment production and was worth nearly Tk3 crore. The delay in receiving the materials has also put Gold Star Garments at risk of missing delivery deadlines to its buyers, he added.
Port Secretary Syed Refayet Hamim told media that the port authority had received the complaint and that an investigation was underway.