Continuous heavy rainfall and rough sea conditions have severely disrupted operations at Chattogram Port, reducing overall productivity by nearly half and bringing cargo unloading at the port’s outer anchorage to a complete standstill for the past four days.
The suspension of lighterage operations has left around 50 bulk cargo vessels stranded at the outer anchorage, forcing importers and shipping agents to incur an estimated US$1.5 million in demurrage charges every day. Industry insiders estimate that cumulative losses have already exceeded US$6 million over the last four days.
Business leaders fear the disruption could soon extend beyond financial losses, threatening industrial production as factories struggle to receive imported raw materials on time. They also warn that the additional logistics costs may eventually be passed on to consumers through higher prices.
Four-day deadlock at the outer anchorage
The operational crisis began on the night of 6 July, when deteriorating weather conditions and the hoisting of Local Warning Signal No 3 made ship-to-ship cargo transfer unsafe.
Large ocean-going vessels anchored at the outer anchorage normally discharge imported commodities onto lighter vessels, which transport the cargo to destinations across the country. However, strong waves, persistent rain and rough seas have made these operations impossible.
The situation remained largely unchanged through 9 July, with only brief and limited attempts to resume operations whenever rainfall temporarily subsided.
According to Bangladesh Ship Handling and Berth Operators Association (BSBOA), between 80 and 120 lighter vessels usually depart from the outer anchorage every day carrying imported commodities. That supply chain has virtually collapsed since the bad weather began.
Around 50 Ships Sitting Idle
BSBOA President Sarwar Hossain Sagar said cargo unloading from mother vessels had to be suspended because of adverse weather.
“When the rain eases, we sometimes resume work for a short period, but operations have to stop again once the rain returns. No one has control over nature. Similar suspensions occur at ports around the world during heavy rainfall,” he said.
He added that around 50 mother vessels are currently waiting at the outer anchorage, with each vessel accumulating up to US$30,000 in demurrage costs per day. Explaining the extent of the financial losses, Sagar said the impact largely depends on the type of charter agreement.
Vessels operating under time charter agreements continue to incur fixed daily hire charges even when cargo operations remain suspended, resulting in significant financial losses.
However, ships under voyage charter agreements are comparatively less affected because weather-related delays are generally excluded from laytime calculations. Asked whether the mounting losses would ultimately affect consumers, he said such weather-related disruptions are part of international shipping business.
“Today there may be losses, but when normal operations resume, businesses recover. Such risks are inherent in trade,” Sarwar Hossain Sagar added.
Productivity at main jetty falls by up to 45%
The adverse weather has also significantly affected operations at Chattogram Port’s main jetties. Port sources said productivity in handling both containerised and bulk cargo has declined by 40 to 45 percent because of continuous rainfall.
Under normal conditions, the port delivers approximately 4,000 TEUs of import containers every day. However, deliveries fell to 3,675 TEUs on 7 July before dropping further to 2,606 TEUs on 8 July. The decline in deliveries is steadily increasing pressure on the port yard.
As of 8 July, the number of containers stored in Chattogram Port’s yards stood at 46,915 TEUs, compared with the port’s storage capacity of 59,000 TEUs. Normally, yard occupancy ranges between 30,000 and 35,000 TEUs.
Export Supply Chain Also Disrupted
The continuous rainfall has also disrupted the movement of export containers from Chattogram’s 21 private Inland Container Depots (ICDs).
Fazle Ikram Chowdhury, president of Berth Operators, Ship Handling Operators and Terminal Operators Owners Association, said export containers and empty containers have been arriving late from private ICDs because of the weather.
“As export containers are not reaching the port on time, vessels cannot complete loading schedules. Consequently, ships are also unable to sail on schedule,” he said. On average, the ICDs send between 2,000 and 2,200 TEUs of export containers to the port each day.
However, according to Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary general of Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), only 1,502 TEUs reached the port on 7 July, while the figure dropped further to 1,327 TEUs on 8 July.
The situation improved slightly on 9 July, when 2,021 TEUs of export containers were transported from ICDs to the port. Md Shawkat Ali, general secretary of the Chittagong C&F Agents Association, said importers are facing serious difficulties because cargo deliveries have slowed significantly.
“If imported raw materials fail to reach factories on time, industrial production may be disrupted,” he warned.
According to the latest port data, there were 73 workable commercial vessels at Chattogram Port as of July 8.
Among them, 14 vessels, including 11 container ships and three general cargo ships, were berthed at the main jetties, while 55 vessels remained at the outer anchorage.
Responding to concerns over the disruption, Syed Refayet Hamim, secretary of Chattogram Port Authority, acknowledged the difficulties being faced by importers but said the port authority has continued its internal operations as efficiently as possible despite the adverse weather.
“It is true that importers are facing problems in taking delivery of goods because of the natural disaster. However, the port authority has maintained normal internal operations with maximum effort. At ports around the world, cargo transfer between ships is suspended during heavy rain or when warning signals are in force at sea. Chittagong Port follows the same international safety standards,” he said.
