Wood-laden boat from Myanmar docks at Teknaf, ending year-long halt

After more than a year of suspension, border trade has resumed as a wood-laden trawler from Myanmar arrived at Teknaf land port this afternoon (1 May).

The trawler departed in the morning from Maungdaw, an area in Myanmar under the control of the Arakan Army, and reached the jetty of Teknaf land port around 1:30pm, confirmed Mohammad Jasim Uddin Chowdhury, general manager (accounts) of United Land Port Limited's Teknaf branch.

"A wooden boat has arrived at the port," he said.

Earlier, on 14 April, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed visited Teknaf land port in Cox's Bazar and announced that port operations would be resumed.

Following the announcement, port activities have restarted, said Shamsul Alam, a labour leader (boatman) at Teknaf land port. "After more than a year, a wooden boat has arrived. With the resumption of activities, relief has returned among workers and traders," he added.

According to sources, the boat began its journey this morning from Hainkhali canal in Maungdaw, an area controlled by the Arakan Army. The consignment was received by Teknaf-based trader Md Faruk.

For nearly one and a half years, ongoing conflict has left about 270 kilometres of Myanmar's Rakhine State border under the control of the Arakan Army. As a result, navigation in the Myanmar section of the Naf River also came under their control.

In early April last year, border trade was effectively halted after Myanmar's junta government suspended operations following obstruction by the Arakan Army over demands for commission from cargo vessels.

This led to major losses for more than a hundred importers and exporters, while Bangladesh lost nearly Tk500 crore in revenue.

After a prolonged stalemate, the arrival of this wood-laden boat is being seen by stakeholders as a positive sign for the resumption of border trade.