4 Teknaf bound cargo ships held by Arakan Army for 3 days

Four cargo ships that left Yangon, Myanmar, bound for the Teknaf land port in Cox’s Bazar have been stuck for three days due to detention by Myanmar’s separatist armed group, the Arakan Army. The ships are carrying goods worth an estimated Tk 40 crore.

Two ships were detained on Thursday, and on Friday, two more were added to the list, bringing the total number of ships held by the Arakan Army at Myanmar's border across from the Teknaf jetty to four. According to the latest information, as of Saturday morning, the ships had still not been released, said Ehatashamul Haque Bahadur, General Secretary of the Teknaf Land Port C&F Agents Association.

He said, "Two cargo ships were detained on Thursday, and two more on Friday, making a total of four cargo ships that were en route from Yangon to Teknaf land port in Cox’s Bazar. The Arakan Army stopped them at the Myanmar border across from Teknaf jetty. It has been three days now, and the ships have still not been released. We have informed the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and other law enforcement agencies about the situation, and they are working on efforts to bring the ships back."

He added that the detained ships are carrying goods worth approximately 30 to 40 crore Taka, owned by Bangladeshi traders. Such incidents are causing significant losses to importers at the port.

In response, Md Jasim Uddin Chowdhury, the General Manager of United Land Port Limited, which operates the Teknaf land port, said, "Cargo ships carrying goods for Bangladeshi traders, which left Myanmar for Teknaf land port, have been held by the Arakan Army at their border for three days. The ships have not been released so far."