Bangladesh needs a neatly-crafted maritime policy

 Ghulam Suhrawardi |  March 08, 2025 00:00:00

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Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made – Robert N. Rose aptly captures the essence of maritime transport—a sector not merely pivotal as a business but fundamental to the lifeline of Bangladesh’s economy. Encircled by the waters of the Bay of Bengal to the south, southeast, and southwest, and reliant on an extensive network of rivers, Bangladesh’s prosperity is fundamentally intertwined with the efficiency of its maritime transport. The country’s dependence on importing and exporting vital commodities such as foodstuffs, raw materials, fuel oil, and liquefied natural gas highlights this sector’s critical role. The challenge is exacerbated by the shallow drafts at Bangladeshi ports, which necessitate significant investments in port and terminal operations and optimizing vessel lightering at outer anchorages to ensure these commodities are moved cost-effectively and efficiently.

However, the maritime sector currently faces its stormy seas, besieged by inefficiencies and pervasive corruption that throttle progress. The issues are so deep-seated that General (retd) Sakhawat Hossain, a senior shipping adviser, consistently highlights the widespread corruption impairing port and terminal operations and water transport organizations. These problems severely limit the industry’s capacity and, by extension, the nation’s economic potential.

Addressing these challenges requires a strategic maritime policy to enhance efficiency, transparency, and global competitiveness. Implementing such a policy is crucial not only for smoothing current operations but also for positioning Bangladesh to capitalize on its geographical strengths in the international economic arena. This article aims to explore the multifaceted challenges faced by Bangladesh’s maritime sector, propose viable solutions to these challenges, and highlight the benefits of a revamped naval infrastructure. By championing a transformative shift in policy and practice, we can unlock the vast potential of Bangladesh’s maritime sector and solidify it as a cornerstone of national prosperity and development.

Establishing stronger maritime training institutions to facilitate sector development: The core of any strong maritime industry is unquestionably its labor force. For Bangladesh, a strategically located country that serves as a maritime link, establishing a skilled maritime labor force is advantageous and crucial to its sustained economic development. Even though there are various maritime training centers, bureaucratic inefficiencies and mismanagement of resources cause hindrances to their capacity to generate skilled maritime experts effectively.

One of the finest institutions of this type is the Bangladesh Marine Academy (BMA), which began as the Juldia Marine Academy in 1962. On a sprawling 200-acre campus in Chattogram, BMA has been at the forefront of maritime education in the region. It has placed more than 5,000 graduates in international maritime careers throughout the years. They are not only successful in international maritime careers but have also contributed to stimulating the economy with foreign remittances. The remittances are significant, as they contribute to strengthening the national economy, with the maritime sector playing a crucial role by placing a huge chunk of the nation’s GDP in circulation.

Concurrently with BMA, the Marine Fisheries Academy also contributed to developing maritime professionals. Until now, it has graduated 1,300 individuals. However, a significant number of these graduates have gravitated toward commercial shipping and not toward the fisheries industry, which was the academy’s mandate in the first place. This alignment has resulted in an overlap and unjustified competition with BMA cadets, diluting the specialized skills to be cultivated for the fisheries sector—a vital part of Bangladesh’s economy, given that it is blessed with tremendous riverine and ocean marine resources.

For career streamlining and enhancing the sector-specific contributions of these institutions, strategic reorientation is necessary. For the Marine Fisheries Academy, there may be a fresh focus on fisheries resources management through curricular revisions and improved training specific to the fisheries industry. This would not only reduce the competition with BMA cadets but also equip the graduates with the needed expertise to contribute towards the growth and sustainability of this vital sector.

These reforms help to precisely define career pathways for graduates of each academy, maximizing their training and employment benefits. In this way, Bangladesh can best take advantage of its strategic maritime location, increasing its strength and stature in the world naval sector. These reforms will also lead to a more secure and prosperous economic future, maximizing the potential of the country’s maritime and fisheries industries.

Rationalising the increase in marine academies: The government of Bangladesh has extensively increased the number of marine academies in recent years and established new academies in Sylhet, Rangpur, Pabna, and Barishal to advance the country’s maritime industry. The new academies emulated the organizational structure of the Bangladesh Marine Academy (BMA), a maritime education leader. Nevertheless, while trying to follow suit of BMA’s success, the new academies have incurred tremendous challenges mainly due to sweeping shortages of able faculty and administrators. This lack has necessarily been reflected in the education provided, weakening the graduates such that they became less competitive globally.

The current position requires strategically rethinking the policy of growing marine academies. Instead of continuing to multiply these academies without solving the problems of faculty skills and quality of instruction, their more useful conversion would be as specialized vocational schools. These vocational schools would provide hands-on, practical training for deck and engine helpers who are vital participants in foreign trade and inland waterways shipping. This change would better respond to industry needs and ensure graduates have the skills needed in actual maritime practice.

Concurrently, consolidation of maritime education at the Chattogram Marine Academy, the prime institution with a track record, would be allowed. By focusing resources on developing the capability of BMA and recruiting mature instructors, the academy can raise its yearly output to 1,000 properly trained cadets. This move would optimize educational resources utilization and make the academy a world leader in maritime education.

This strategic realignment would enhance the quality of marine education all over Bangladesh so that Bangladesh’s maritime professionals are well-positioned to respond to the demands of the global shipping industry. By creating a pool of highly competent maritime professionals, Bangladesh would be able to significantly enhance its reputation in the global maritime industry, fostering development and innovation within the industry. This will make sense of the process of training but also maximize the impact and value of the country’s investment in maritime training.

Maximising the contribution of the fisheries academy: strategic curriculum planning and career path mapping: The Fisheries Academy, a very important organization that plays a leading role in producing maritime professionals for Bangladesh, undergoes significant underutilization of its cadets, which further affects the overall employment condition within the maritime sector. Many Fisheries Academy graduates are currently absorbed by the commercial shipping industry, deviating from their specialized training in fisheries management and technology. This divergence not only dilutes the intended impact of their specialized education but also heightens the competition for employment in the already over-saturated commercial shipping business.

To effectively address this divergence, a proper reassessment and realignment of the Fisheries Academy curriculum is critical. The academy’s training programs should be designed to cater to the specific needs of the fisheries sector, covering skill and knowledge areas such as sustainable fishing, marine ecology, and management of fisheries resources. This integration will prepare graduates for fisheries careers, enhancing their employment prospects and contributing more directly to the sector of the national economy that is most important for food security and export revenues.

Moreover, creating a harmonized policy framework by stakeholders involved—like the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Fisheries, the Shipping Ministry, and the private sector—is essential. This coordination would aim to develop clear, actionable policies that guide Fisheries Academy graduates toward career specializations.

Through these approaches, the Fisheries Academy will contribute more to Bangladesh’s ocean marine fishing sector and provide graduates who are highly esteemed in the industry with a good position to be absorbed in the job market. Through this approach, not only will the human resource factor be utilized to its fullest, but Bangladesh’s maritime and fishing sectors will also have maximum productivity and sustainability. Most of all, the primary goal of the Fisheries Academy was related to ocean marine fisheries and no other purpose. It is an organization of Fisheries and not the shipping ministry.

Charting the course – towards an integrated maritime strategy for Bangladesh: Bangladesh stands at a crossroads where it can significantly enhance its strategic use of vast sea resources and consolidate its position in the global blue economy. To this end, the adoption of an integrated maritime strategy is imperative. Such a policy should not just deal with optimizing current resources but also pave the way for sustainable and creative future growth. Such an umbrella approach requires well-coordinated input from players like government bodies, private organizations, academia, and international allies.

The basis for this holistic framework has to be sustainability. Bangladesh must promote practices that maintain and preserve its marine ecosystems without hindering economic activities. These involve embracing superior technologies that keep environmental footprints low and productivity high in maritime operations. The development of technology in the form of cleaner fuels, the automation of ports, and advanced fisheries management systems can significantly improve operational efficiency and environmental protection.

Besides, governance reform is necessary to enable the maritime sector to operate transparently and efficiently. Strengthening the regulatory mechanisms and enforcement of the maritime legislation will help keep issues such as overfishing, piracy, and illegal activities off-shore under control. The reforms will not only improve security and compliance in the territorial waters but also raise the reputation of Bangladesh internationally.

A good maritime policy, in consonance with this strategy, will play an essential role in increasing the efficiency of trade, which will go a great distance in promoting the national economy. Through the rationalization of customs clearance processes, improving port facilities, and enhancing logistic chains, Bangladesh will be more competitive internationally. Apart from that, this kind of policy will facilitate the creation of employment across all sections of the maritime industry, from shipping and logistics to marine science and engineering.

While pursuing international cooperation, Bangladesh can gain access to the best global experience and investments for the development and modernization of its shipping industry. Such relations can provide Bangladeshi exportable goods and services access to new markets and enhance the country’s export base and economic diversification support.

Now is the time to act. With a clear and visionary maritime policy, Bangladesh can not only guarantee the long-term development of its maritime sector but also place itself as the world’s leading maritime nation. As the ancient maxim goes, “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” By mapping out the complexities of contemporary maritime challenges with visionary foresight and firm policy support, Bangladesh can look forward to an auspicious future, attaining the full promise of its maritime capability.

Conclusion and recommendations: To make Bangladesh’s shipping sector flourish in the long term, the government must act promptly and create a well-developed maritime policy that facilitates trade efficiency, creates job opportunities, and supports international cooperation. Particular actions include reforming maritime training institutes, educating the following industry needs, and bringing out governance reforms for eradicating corruption.

As the great navigator Ferdinand Magellan once penned, “The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore.” Similarly, Bangladesh’s oceanic challenges are enormous, but the opportunity and the necessity for change are much more significant.

The author is the publisher of the USA-based South Asia Journal, author of Bangladesh Maritime History and nautical publications, and President of the Bangladesh Marine Academy Alumni Association.

suhrawardi@southasiajournal.net

The article appeared in the Financial Express.