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Chittagong, June 15, 2025: The prolonged Eid-ul-Adha holidays have led to significant container congestion at Chittagong Port. Although port operations remained active during the holidays, the closure of import-export-related establishments and most industrial factories resulted in a sharp decline in container clearance. Typically, the port clears over 4,000 containers daily, but during the Eid holidays, this number dropped to an average of 1,500 containers per day.
As a result, the port’s yard saw an accumulation of over 42,000 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), nearing its operational capacity of 45,000 TEUs. The delay in cargo clearance has also caused a backlog of 45 foreign-bound vessels waiting at the outer anchorage, including 13 container ships.
With government offices reopening on Sunday, June 15, port activities have begun to resume. Authorities and shipping agents are optimistic that the situation will normalize within a few days. Port officials noted that while the yard has a total capacity of 53,000 TEUs, operational efficiency requires keeping some space free, limiting the effective capacity to 45,000 TEUs.
Last month, protests against the dissolution of the National Board of Revenue (NBR) disrupted customs operations, leading to a similar congestion with over 41,000 TEUs at the port. Before the Eid holidays, on June 4, the port had 28,000 TEUs of imported containers, which surged past 42,000 TEUs by June 14, the last day of the holidays.
Captain Ahmed Amin Abdullah, Member (Harbor and Marine) of Chittagong Port, stated that efforts were made to clear the yard before the holidays. Meetings with stakeholders were held, and directives were issued to address the congestion swiftly.
AI/MR
