Chittagong Port, the country’s principal gateway handling about 92% of Bangladesh’s trade, is mired in disruption. When operations stall at this scale, the impact extends beyond the port to factories, export orders, foreign exchange earnings and ultimately consumers.
Although limited operations resumed after six consecutive days of strike, normalcy has not returned. Protests, administrative actions and countermeasures have deepened uncertainty. Containers are piling up inside and outside the port, ships are queuing at outer anchorage, and discontent among workers is intensifying.
Origins of dispute
The crisis began on January 31 over a decision to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to Dubai-based operator DP World. Workers alleged the move was made without meaningful consultation. Tensions escalated after several employees were transferred instead of dialogue being initiated.
An eight-hour daily work stoppage began last Saturday and soon turned into an indefinite strike, effectively halting vessel movement—an unprecedented development in the port’s history.
Though the program was suspended for two days on Thursday afternoon, operations took time to restart due to tidal schedules, nighttime navigation limits and the cumulative disruption. Ships stranded at jetties were shifted during high tide Friday morning, and vessels waiting offshore were berthed. Even then, truck queues at terminal gates underscored the backlog.
Container congestion, shipping delays
According to port authorities, more than 38,000 TEUs are now stacked in the yards, including over 29,000 full container load (FCL) units tied directly to import-export trade.
Export congestion is acute. About 1,000 TEUs of export containers remain stuck inside the port. Private inland container depots hold 13,000–14,000 export containers, with another 1,500 at private depots and 1,750 awaiting transfer to the Kamalapur Inland Container Depot. Fresh export cargo is arriving, but unresolved backlogs are straining capacity.
The outer anchorage presents the most visible sign of paralysis: fuel and gas tankers, more than 50 container ships and over 100 bulk carriers are waiting. Daily arrivals are complicating berth scheduling. Shipping sources estimate demurrage costs of $15,000–$20,000 per vessel per day, pushing cumulative losses into hundreds of crores of taka.
The readymade garments sector faces the heaviest fallout. Several feeder vessels have departed without scheduled export containers, disrupting shipments to Europe and the United States. Khairul Alam Sujan, former director of the Bangladesh Shipping Agents’ Association, warned that clearing the backlog of over 14,000 export containers could take two to two-and-a-half months. Beyond financial losses, he said, the disruption risks damaging Bangladesh’s trade credibility and eroding buyer confidence.
Production chains are also under strain. More than 800 containers of raw materials belonging to Pran-RFL Group are stuck at the port. Delays threaten output in plastics, electronics and other industries, while late food shipments risk rejection by foreign buyers. Business leaders describe the situation as a “double shock”—raw materials stalled on one end and finished goods blocked on the other.
Businesses fret, policy tensions
Importers and exporters in the apparel sector have sought urgent intervention from the Ministry of Shipping to restore normal operations. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Acting President Selim Rahman said any disruption at Chittagong Port directly undermines supply chains and export flows. The association cautioned that failure to meet lead times could result in immediate losses and jeopardize future orders, affecting export growth and foreign currency earnings.
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry noted that roughly 54,000 containers are stranded, while businesses are incurring additional costs of Tk 10,000–15,000 per container daily. With the port typically handling about 9,000 TEUs per day, prolonged disruption could trigger order cancellations, diversion of cargo to competing countries and price hikes in the domestic market. Ten leading business associations jointly described the port as the “heartbeat” of the economy, warning that even a single day of paralysis causes massive losses.
Amid efforts to defuse the crisis, the port authority has written to the Anti-Corruption Commission seeking asset investigations into 15 employees linked to the protests and requested travel bans. The move has heightened tensions. The Chittagong Port Protection Council views it as a setback to reconciliation and has announced an indefinite strike from 8:00am Sunday, extending to outer anchorage operations.
The council’s four-point demand includes cancellation of the NCT lease to DP World, withdrawal of Chairman M Moniruzzaman, reinstatement of transferred or penalized employees, and withdrawal of cases against protesting workers. Coordinator Md Humayun Kabir called on all workers to join the strike, declaring that no activities would continue at outer anchorage.
Analysts say the standoff has moved beyond a labour dispute or administrative decision. It has become a test of Bangladesh’s export capacity, foreign exchange stability and international commercial reputation.
