The five-day average of export container backlog in Chattogram off-docks stood at 14,636 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) on Tuesday.
This is much higher than the normal average backlog of around 6,000 TEUs in the depots a day.
However, export backlog stood at 15,314 TEUs on Tuesday, down by 219 TEUs from Monday.
Exporters or shippers said they needed extra 10-15 days on an average for making their shipments due to the backlog.
They also said they had been counting demurrage each day for the situation.
In the meantime, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) organised a meeting with the port users on Monday to resolve the crisis that was never seen in the recent past.
The CPA took some decisions for easing the crisis, which included, among others, to force shipment of 20-foot export-laden containers from the port yards.
As of Tuesday, a total of 30,430 TEUs of empty containers, including 10,053 TEUs of 40-foot containers, remained stockpiled in 17 depots, according to the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), a group of 19 off-docks in Chattogram.
According to many shipping experts, the present backlog has been caused by lack of pre-assigned feeder vessels, connecting the port. The feeder vessels transport cargoes to the mother vessels in Port of Colombo or Port of Singapore to send those to the US and Europe.
There are a total of 19 off-docks in Chattogram, of which 17 are in operations now. These depots are considered as extensions of the port, as their functions facilitate the port activities.
The off-docks, having an aggregate storing capacity of 77,700 TEUs, handle cent per cent export and 25 per cent import of Bangladesh.
Source : The Financial Express
