DESPITE slight improvements, container congestion continues to disrupt operations at Bangladesh's chattogram Port, with an unusually high number of containers crowding its yard and private inland container depots (ICDs), following the recent political upheavals and devastating floods.
Port officials say the congestion is delaying the handling of import and export cargo, reports Dhaka's The Business Standard.
Although vessel waiting times at the port have improved, dropping from nine days to four-five days at the outer anchorage, pressure on the port's yards and depots remains high, officials say.
According to the officials, at least 5,000 TEU of import containers need to be cleared to restore normal operations of the port. Likewise, the depots must reduce their load by 5,000 TEU of export containers.
Full normalization is expected to take more than 15 days, they added.
Omar Faruk, secretary of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), said the situation is gradually improving as importers continue to collect their containers.
The Chattogram Port has a container capacity of 53,518 TEU.
For smooth operations, port authorities aim to keep the number of containers between 30,000 TEU and 32,000 TEU. As of July 15, the port had 32,957 TEU, which was considered manageable, according to the CPA.
Due to disruptions, including political unrest and the flood-related shutdown of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway and rail connections, container deliveries were halted, causing an accumulation of over 44,000 TEU in the port yard by mid-August.
By September 6, the number decreased to 40,180 TEU, but officials still find this unsatisfactory.
They warn that unless deliveries exceed the rate of incoming import containers, the congestion will persist.
SeaNews Turkey
Port officials say the congestion is delaying the handling of import and export cargo, reports Dhaka's The Business Standard.
Although vessel waiting times at the port have improved, dropping from nine days to four-five days at the outer anchorage, pressure on the port's yards and depots remains high, officials say.
According to the officials, at least 5,000 TEU of import containers need to be cleared to restore normal operations of the port. Likewise, the depots must reduce their load by 5,000 TEU of export containers.
Full normalization is expected to take more than 15 days, they added.
Omar Faruk, secretary of the Chattogram Port Authority (CPA), said the situation is gradually improving as importers continue to collect their containers.
The Chattogram Port has a container capacity of 53,518 TEU.
For smooth operations, port authorities aim to keep the number of containers between 30,000 TEU and 32,000 TEU. As of July 15, the port had 32,957 TEU, which was considered manageable, according to the CPA.
Due to disruptions, including political unrest and the flood-related shutdown of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway and rail connections, container deliveries were halted, causing an accumulation of over 44,000 TEU in the port yard by mid-August.
By September 6, the number decreased to 40,180 TEU, but officials still find this unsatisfactory.
They warn that unless deliveries exceed the rate of incoming import containers, the congestion will persist.
SeaNews Turkey
