As a precaution against Cyclone Remal, the port administration issued its highest security alert, number 4 stopping all operational activity at the Chittagong port, including loading, unloading, and cargo delivery.
To prevent any damage to the port jetties, the port authority also sent all 19 of the vessels that were at its main and specialist jetties out to sea by the afternoon.
According to Md. Omar Faruk, secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), the suspension went into force at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday and would stay in place until further notice.
At the same time, flight operations at the port city’s Shah Amanat International Airport were likewise halted for eight hours starting at noon. It may be extended, said Group Captain Taslim Ahmed, director of the airport.
On Saturday, it had issued its security alert No 3 at 9:00 pm after the Met office advised hoisting danger signal No 6.
The loading and unloading of cargo and containers at the port jetties, as well as the offloading of import cargo from larger vessels to smaller ones at the outer anchorage, were suspended as part of security alert No 3.
According to Faruk, 49 sizable boats were moved from the outer anchorage to the sea the same evening. He claimed that because the Karnaphuli River’s tide had dropped, not all of the vessels could be moved. He said that the CPA Marine Department was able to move the remaining vessels on Sunday morning due to the rising tide.
According to the CPA’s Cyclone Disaster Preparedness and Post Cyclone Rehabilitation Plan-1992, the authority usually issues four categories of security alerts in line with the Met office signals as a cautionary measure in times of natural calamities.
