Maersk warns: "The world's first traffic" continued congestion! Many shipping companies have suspended orders
The latest report from Lloyd's Daily pointed out that although the Bangladeshi government has announced the lifting of the curfew that began on Sunday and was implemented on Tuesday, allowing businesses to resume normal business hours, and Internet and mobile connection services have been restored throughout the country, the port congestion caused by the ongoing unrest in the country is still serious, and the overall situation is still volatile.
Maersk confirmed in its official announcement that although Chittagong, Bangladesh's largest port, has resumed operations, the transfer and processing of containers has been slow due to a serious shortage of staff on site. The company further stressed: "The current situation is extremely volatile and continues to change dynamically."
Chinese freight service providers told Lloyd's Daily that although Chittagong has maintained its operation, the port congestion has not been eased, coupled with the ongoing civil unrest, some recipients have chosen to cancel orders for goods to Chittagong. In addition, the riots also affected the railway transportation system, further aggravating the difficulties of transporting goods at the port.
In view of this, a number of container shipping lines have taken temporary measures to suspend the acceptance of cargo orders to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, in order to cope with the current complex and uncertain logistics environment.
According to Linerlytica's weekly newspaper, port operations in Chittagong have been severely disrupted by the protests, with berthing delays still widespread, with some vessels facing waiting times of up to seven days.
The protests, which began in early July and were initially triggered by a controversial government employment quota system, quickly spread and escalated into nationwide unrest. In response to the situation, the Bangladeshi government imposed several curfews since around July 20 and temporarily suspended broadband connections, but gradually restored these services in the following days.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced her resignation and departure from the country on Monday, after which the head of the military said an interim government would be formed to stabilize the situation in the country.
Why is Chittagong port often congested?
Chattogram, as the largest port city in Bangladesh and the second largest city in the country, the operation of its port is crucial to Bangladesh's international trade and industrial development. However, the Chittagong port is often congested, which not only affects the operational efficiency of the port itself, but also causes no small obstacle to the economic development of Bangladesh.
Insufficient processing capacity
Although Chittagong port has a long history and modern facilities, its handling capacity is relatively limited. With the rapid economic development of Bangladesh, especially the rapid growth of international trade and industrial production, the throughput of the port has also increased significantly. However, the port's processing capacity has not kept pace with this growth, resulting in ports that are often overloaded. According to data, Chittagong's annual throughput has far exceeded its design capacity, and this supply-demand imbalance is one of the main reasons for port congestion.
Infrastructure limitation
Chittagong's port infrastructure also has many limitations. For example, the port has a limited number of berths and shallow water depths that make it impossible to dock large container ships. This has left many large freighters waiting in anchorage outside the port, waiting for smaller barges to transfer their cargo. In addition, the loading and unloading equipment and storage yard space in the port are also limited, which cannot meet the rapid loading and unloading and storage needs of a large number of goods. These infrastructure constraints further exacerbate port congestion.
mismanagement
Poor management is also one of the major causes of port congestion in Chittagong. Port management departments have deficiencies in coordinating the entry and exit of ships, cargo handling and storage, resulting in low efficiency of port operation. In addition, there are some irregular operations and violations in the port, such as unauthorized occupation of yard space, illegal loading and unloading of goods, etc., which also aggravate the congestion and chaos in the port.
Interference by external factors
Apart from internal factors, external factors have also caused disruption to Chittagong port operations. Recent protests in Bangladesh, for example, have led to blocked highways, curfews and limited Internet services, adding to the difficulties at ports. In addition, the Bangladesh government's implementation of the "pre-ship inspection system" (PSI) for imported goods has also had a certain impact on port operations. The system requires all shipments to Bangladesh to undergo a value assessment and bulk status inspection before loading, which has increased the time and cost of customs clearance for imported cargoes to some extent, thus exacerbating port congestion.
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