The peak season for catching hilsa usually sees coastal waters buzzing with activity and hundreds of fishermen casting their nets. Yet, a starkly different scene unfolds at the Mohipur and Alipur fisheries harbours in Patuakhali. Hundreds of motorized fishing trawlers remain tethered to the docks, completely paralyzed by an acute shortage of ice.
Frequent power interruptions have crippled local ice-manufacturing plants, preventing them from maintaining normal production levels. With the supply of ice falling drastically short of daily requirements, numerous vessels have been unable to leave the shoreline for over a week.
Fishermen report that the market price for a standard can of ice has doubled from one hundred and fifty taka to three hundred taka. Even at these inflated rates, securing adequate quantities remains nearly impossible. Master Sayed Mia of the fishing vessel FB Sonabanu, originating from Banshkhali, has been stranded at the Mohipur landing station for five days. His operation requires between one hundred and fifty and two hundred cans of ice to embark safely on a deep-sea expedition.
After contacting multiple ice-producing facilities, he managed to secure offers for only fifty to sixty cans, despite agreeing to pay premium prices. Setting sail with such a fraction of the required preservation capacity is not viable, and plant operators cannot guarantee when full supplies will become available.
A similar plight affects vessel owner Mizan Hussain, whose trawler FB Nurjahan remains idle at the Alipur harbour. Having lost a full week of operations during the most lucrative period of the year, owners face mounting financial losses. Rahim Khan, proprietor of Khan Fish Arat in Alipur, noted that procuring ice now requires paying double the usual rate. To mitigate the deficit, traders have been forced to transport ice via trucks from distant districts including Khulna, Bagerhat, and Barishal, incurring massive additional transportation costs and severe delays.
Key Operational Metrics and Regional Statistics
| Indicator Category | Quantitative Data / Status Description |
| Primary Affected Harbours | Mohipur and Alipur Fisheries Harbours, Patuakhali |
| Core Crisis Factor | Severe ice shortage driven by frequent load shedding |
| Impacted Watercraft | Hundreds of commercial hilsa fishing trawlers |
| Duration of Stoppage | Vessels stranded continuously for over one week |
| Previous Price of Ice | 150 Taka per standard can |
| Current Price of Ice | 300 Taka per standard can |
| Emergency Sourcing Hubs | Khulna, Bagerhat, and Barishal via cargo trucks |
| Daily Electricity Demand | Approximately 130 Megawatts for Patuakhali district |
| National Grid Supply | Approximately 85 Megawatts received daily |
| Daily Power Deficit | Approximately 45 Megawatts shortfall |
Local traders emphasise that preserving fresh catches requires massive amounts of ice for every single vessel deployed. When the ice supply chain collapses, the economic shockwaves ripple outward to affect vessel owners, wholesale commission agents, and retail seafood merchants alike. Ice plant operators explain that maintaining production is unfeasible without reliable electricity, creating a severe supply bottleneck precisely when seasonal demand peaks. Stakeholders have urgently appealed for uninterrupted power supplies to the two coastal hubs.
Abul Kashem, General Manager of the Patuakhali Rural Electricity Samity, explained that widespread fuel constraints are driving the regional load-shedding schedule. The district faces a daily electricity demand of roughly one hundred and thirty megawatts against a grid allocation of only eighty-five megawatts. This leaves a persistent daily deficit of forty-five megawatts, allowing utilities to supply only sixty-five percent of total requirements. Authorities hope that once national fuel supplies stabilize and offline generation plants resume operations, the heavy rotational blackouts will gradually subside.
