9,278 Containers Stranded at Chittagong Port Amid Prolonged Auction Delays

Nearly 9,278 cargo-laden containers, worth several thousand crore taka, remain stranded at Chittagong Port, occupying up to a fifth of its storage capacity and worsening congestion at Bangladesh’s busiest seaport despite repeated efforts to clear the backlog through auction.

How long have these containers been stuck at Chittagong Port?

According to Chittagong Port Authority and Chittagong Custom House officials, the containers hold around 200,000 tonnes of imported goods, with many having sat at the port for 10 to 15 years. Much of the cargo inside has deteriorated or become unusable. Port regulations require unclaimed goods to be auctioned or destroyed within 30 days of unloading, but procedural delays have allowed the backlog to persist for years.

How much port capacity is affected by the stranded containers?

Officials said the abandoned containers, comprising 2,700 twenty-foot and 6,578 forty-foot units, occupy 15 to 20 percent of the port’s operational space, limiting its ability to handle fresh import and export cargo. Commodore Amin Ahmed Abdullah of the Chittagong Port Authority said clearing these containers would free up significant capacity for new cargo handling.

Why is the auction process moving so slowly?

Chittagong Custom House currently auctions only 20 to 30 containers a month. Of 2,697 containers enlisted for auction, approval has been granted for 1,619. Only 988 containers have been cleared over the past 18 months, even as new abandoned containers continue to join the list, keeping the overall backlog largely unchanged. Officials cited legal and procedural requirements as the main cause of delay.

What impact is this having on trade and shipping stakeholders?

Industry representatives, including former Bangladesh Shipping Agents’ Association director Khairul Alam Sujan, said prolonged delays have caused financial losses for shipping agents and deterioration of goods, urging authorities to speed up the auction process to ease congestion and improve trade efficiency.