Dwaipayan Barua

UAE’s DP World, Saudi RSGT and two local entities enter competition

The UAE-based company also wants to operate Chittagong Container Terminal

Companies are deploying a range of measures to absorb the cost shock without immediately raising retail prices

The recent fuel price hike is rippling through Bangladesh’s trade logistics chain, pushing up costs for importers, exporters and freight operators at the same time.

They raised the charges because of the diesel price hike, says Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA)

Lighter vessels are facing fuel shortages that are slowing and disrupting their regular operations to unload cargo from mother ships at Chattogram port’s outer anchorage.

Lighter vessels are facing fuel shortages that are slowing and disrupting their regular operations to unload cargo from mother ships at Chattogram port’s outer anchorage.

Amid long queues at refuelling stations, trucks carrying perishable vegetables, food items and factory raw materials are charging at least Tk 5,000 more than pre-war rates per trip to Dhaka from different parts of the country.

Bangladeshi exporters and importers are facing higher shipping costs as major global carriers introduce war-related surcharges following the US-Israel war on Iran.

The Red-Sea Gateway Terminal (RSGT) Chittagong recorded its highest-ever monthly container throughput of 30,308 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) in February since Saudi operator RSGT International (RSGTI) began operations in June 2024.

The majority of Bangladeshi oceangoing vessels -- both state-owned and private -- have suspended navigation through the Gulf region as conflict has flared between the US, Israel and Iran.

Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC) is maintaining close communication with its vessel, MV Banglar Joyjatra, now berthed at the Port of Jebel Ali in the UAE, amid heightened regional tensions linked to the Iran-US conflict.

Chattogram port is gradually recovering from a severe backlog caused by a seven-day employee strike earlier this month and a 48-hour closure during the national election, thanks to increased daily container deliveries.

Chattogram port workers and employees have called another round of indefinite strike from today, adopting a more hardline approach this time as they threatened to halt cargo handling at the outer anchorage, which remained out of the purview of last week’s six-day work abstention.

Operational activities at Chattogram port finally resumed yesterday afternoon after a six-day impasse, as protesting employees postponed their ongoing work abstention until Saturday following assurances from Shipping Adviser M Sakhawat Hussain that steps would be taken to meet their demands.

Chattogram Port has ground to a halt in the last two days as workers and employees went on an indefinite work abstention over the government’s move to lease the key New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to Dubai-based DP World.

The stalemate in import and export activities through the Chattogram port is set to deepen further as workers called for a 24-hour strike starting at 8:00am today to protest the government’s decision to lease out the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to UAE-based operator DP World.

Operations at Chattogram port came to a standstill yesterday over the planned handover of the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to DP World.

Mother ships waiting for 10-20 extra days at outer anchorages for unloading

Port officials said the problem has persisted for nearly a year