Chittagong Port is severely congested and cargo ships have to wait for a long and costly berth

According to Bangladesh’s “Daily Star” report on April 22, affected by Bangladesh’s national holiday and travel restrictions to combat the new coronavirus epidemic, Chittagong Port’s cargo ships were severely congested, and cargo ships arrived at the port. It takes more than ten days to wait for the terminal berth after the outer anchorage. For this, additional port stay fees, fuel fees, berth fees and other expenses need to be borne. The shipping company also needs to bear charter fees, port pilotage fees, terminal usage fees, and unloading fees. , container occupancy fees and capital costs, as well as long waiting times leading to losses such as changes and cancellations of scheduled shipping schedules, and operating pressure has increased sharply. For example, the report stated that after arriving at the outer anchorage of Chittagong Port on April 5, a container ship belonging to the Bangladesh OEL Company waited for 11 days before unloading at the terminal berth. Another ship arrived at the anchorage outside the port on April 10 and has been waiting. The Chittagong Port Authority yesterday informed that a berth may be arranged as early as April 26. Shipping companies said that if the cargo ship waits for more than 20 days at the port, it will be difficult for the shipping company to maintain operations due to high costs and losses, and called on relevant departments to cancel the additional charges during the waiting period at the terminal.