Ctg port's container delivery declines due to the ongoing unrest

Container deliveries at Chattogram Port declined today (4 August) compared to the previous day due to ongoing countrywide unrest centring Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, according to officials.

"A transportation crisis emerged today as goods transport owners and workers are unwilling to drive on the roads. This situation is causing importers to face difficulties in delivering their goods." Chittagong Customs C&F Agents Association Port Affairs Secretary Liaquat Ali told The Business Standard.

Chattogram District Prime Mover, Trailer Owners-Workers Association President Selim Khan said, "Transportation has become a target for both protesters and those resisting the protests. In such a situation, transport owners are worried about the safety of their vehicles. 

"Drivers and workers are afraid to go out on the road risking their lives. 

However, goods transportation at the port is still relatively normal," he added.

Omar Farooque, secretary of Chattogram Port Authority, told TBS that there were assignments for the delivery of 1,200 TEU containers from the port today. 

"The exact number of containers that importers were able to deliver will be confirmed after 8am on Monday," he added.

According to port data, 2,877 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit) containers were delivered on Friday and 2,657 TEU containers on Saturday. On Thursday, 3,832 TEU containers were delivered.

The port yard has a capacity to hold 53,518 TEU of containers. As of 8am today, there were 41,069 TEU of containers in the port yard.

During regular times, more than 2,000 covered vans carrying export products from various parts of the country, including Dhaka, arrive at 19 private depots in Chittagong. However, due to abnormal traffic conditions, this number has decreased.

Ruhul Amin Shikder, secretary general of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA) told TBS that only about 500 vehicles have been able to reach the depots due to traffic disruptions. The export cargo containers were sent to the port for shipment as scheduled today. If export products fail to arrive at the depot on time, there is a risk of disrupting the shipment schedule for these goods.

"The 19 existing ICDs, also known as off-docks, handle almost 95% of export goods for shipments and 38 types of import goods, including food items like rice, wheat, mustard seed, chickpeas and pulses, according to industry insiders.

"The ICDs work to help ease congestion at the port and facilitate quick clearance of full container loads of cargo by allowing unloading or delivery from outside the port area," he added.