The row over onboard container handling charges at the General Cargo Berth (GCB) terminal of Chattogram Port has finally ended with a unanimous decision to raise the charge by Tk 175 per container.

A meeting at the shipping ministry on Tuesday, chaired by Shipping Adviser Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hossain, took the decision, according to Mohammed Yousuf, senior secretary of the ministry.

With this, the several months long dispute between the associations of shipping agents and berth operators regarding onboard container handling charges at six jetties of the GCB has been resolved.

After a two-hour meeting, the leaders and representatives of the two conflicting associations agreed to the increased rate fixed at the meeting, said a senior CPA official who attended.

In early January this year, the dispute worsened when berth operators proposed to raise the onboard handling charge by $5 per container

In early January this year, the dispute worsened when berth operators proposed to raise the onboard handling charge by $5 per container, citing rising operational costs, wages, and other expenses, which shipping agents opposed.

Currently, shipping agents pay berth operators Tk 559.53 per container for onboard handling.

As their demands were unmet, the berth operators began slowing down the unloading procedures, leading to prolonged stays of vessels at the GCB.

To address the issue, the CPA, in a tripartite meeting on March 9, unilaterally fixed the incremental rate at Tk 205 per container.

However, the shipping agents rejected that rate and instead offered to increase the charge by Tk 50 per container.

The shipping ministry arranged Tuesday's meeting after the CPA sought its intervention last month to resolve the issue.

CPA Chairman Rear Admiral M Moniruzzaman, Berth Operators Association President Fazle Ekram Chowdhury, Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association Senior Vice President Syed Iqbal Ali Shimul, Director Muntasir Rubayat, Bangladesh Container Shipping Association Chairman Faiyaz Karim, and senior officials of various foreign shipping lines, including Maersk Line and CMA CGM, were also present.