Dhaka  - Movements of ships at Bangladesh's prime Chittagong sea port were suspended Wednesday after a lighter vessel sunk in the Karnaphuli channel late Tuesday night, officials said.

More than 40 ships remained stranded at the outer anchorage while five others remained stuck at the port after the clinker-laden vessel, caught up in a stormy weather, capsized in the channel.

"We have made preparations to remove the vessel from the channel, but the rescue operation is yet to begin," Fariduddin Ahmed, the secretary of the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), said.

The authorities have asked the owner of the vessel to join the government efforts to remove the ship from the Karnaphuli estuary, the gateway to Chittagong port.

The authorities have launched a probe into the accident. Eleven out of 12 crew-members managed to swim ashore while the other remained missing.