Highlights:
- Sinar Sorong waited 10 days to berth at port
- Port congestion worsened by Eid holiday and limited equipment
- Most berths full, but Patenga Terminal underused due to shortages
- Shipping delays caused daily losses up to $20,000 per ship
- Container deliveries dropped sharply during Eid, creating backlog
- Over 8,000 extra containers accumulated during 10-day holiday
The Singapore-flagged vessel Sinar Sorong arrived at the outer anchorage of Chattogram Port on 6 June with a consignment of containers from the Port of Singapore. However, due to the Eid holidays and a lack of berthing slots, the ship has yet to berth at the jetty. It is scheduled to dock today, 10 days after arrival.
Eleven container vessels were scheduled to berth at the port yesterday, including eight gearless and three geared ships. Geared ships have cranes or other machinery for loading and unloading cargo, while gearless ships rely on shore-based equipment at ports.
According to shipping companies, these ships carry around 22,000 import containers, with each ship carrying an average of 2,000 TEUs.
As of yesterday, 12 ships were at berth at Chattogram Port — four at the General Cargo Berth (GCB), two at the Chattogram Container Terminal (CCT), five at the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT), and one at the Patenga Container Terminal (PCT).
Due to the lack of empty berths at NCT, CCT, and GCB, the ships at the outer anchorage cannot dock. On the other hand, three out of four berths at the PCT, operated by foreign operator Red Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT), remain empty. However, shipping sources say they cannot handle additional vessels there due to the lack of equipment.
Patenga Container Terminal, constructed with Tk1,230 crore in funding from Chattogram Port, was leased out to Red Sea Gateway Terminal under a 22-year contract in December 2023. The first commercial shipment of export containers took place at the terminal on 10 June 2024.
Although import container handling has recently started at the terminal, the lack of necessary equipment is preventing vessels from berthing at all its jetties. The PCT also lacks gantry cranes, so only geared vessels — those with their own cranes — are able to berth there.
Shipping companies are incurring significant costs because of the delays. Daily charges for vessels stuck at sea range between $12,000 and $20,000, depending on vessel size.
According to Chattogram Port data, the Panama-flagged Sol Promise arrived from Colombo Port on 12 June with containers. It is expected to berth today, after a four-day wait.
Gearless vessels have had to wait up to nine days at the outer anchorage, while geared vessels wait about three days. Gearless vessels do not have their own cranes and rely on the port’s gantry cranes to load and unload containers. Most ships arriving at Chattogram Port are gearless.
Mainline operators and shipping industry insiders say a 10-day wait time is unprecedented and did not occur in the past year. The extended 10-day Eid holiday has caused this backlog, whereas delays rarely exceeded five days in previous holidays.
However, only one vessel – the Singapore-flagged vessel Sinar Sorong – had to wait for 10 days while others faced different longer-than-usual wait times.
They also noted that unloading at the jetty is taking longer than usual. Normally, ships complete loading and unloading within two to three days and leave the port. Now, it is taking four to five days.
As of yesterday, 98 ships were present at the port’s jetties and outer anchorage. These include container ships, bulk cargo vessels, and oil tankers.
Shipping industry sources say that under normal circumstances, a container ship would berth within one or two days of arriving at the outer anchorage — sometimes even getting a berth upon arrival. But during the Eid holidays, container movement slowed down, causing the backlog.
Mahfuzul Haque Shah, a former director of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “The fear of disruption from the long Eid holiday has come true. The congestion at the port will take time to clear, and the financial loss must be borne by businesses.”
He noted that although the port remained open during Eid, related stakeholders were closed, which affected container deliveries and caused the congestion.
