Russia-Ukraine war, dollar crisis push down Ctg Port by three notches on Lloyd's list

The Chattogram Port has moved three notches down on the list of 100 busiest seaports of the world in 2022, in terms of annual container handling, slipping from the 64th to 67th position, according to Lloyd's List, one of the world's oldest shipping journals.  

The Chattogram Port Authority and business people, however, attributed this fall in container handling to the Russia-Ukraine war, global trade slowdown and the dollar crisis. 

The 2023 edition of the Lloyd's List of ports came out recently, where the Chattogram Port held the 67th place.  Lloyd's prepared the list based on container handling data in 2022.

According to the list, the Chattogram Port handled a total of 31,42,504 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit) of containers in 2022, down by 72,044 TEUs, or 2.2% from a total of 32,14,548 TEUs of containers handled in 2021.

China's Port of Shanghai and the Port of Singapore have secured first and second spots respectively on the list.

Sources said that the Chattogram Port is used for 92% of the country's total sea-route trade, and 98% of the total containers are transported through this main seaport.

In 2010, the Chattogram Port ranked 88th on the Lloyds List. Then it became 89th in 2011, 90th in 2012, 86th in 2013 and 87th in 2014.   

Since 2015, the port has continued to advance on the list, with 76th spot in that year. It secured 71st spot in 2016, 70th in 2017, 64th in 2018 and 58th in 2019. The port moved down to 67th in 2020, and again moved up by three notches to 64th in 2021. 

Md Omar Faruk, secretary of the Chattogram Port Authority, told The Business Standard, "The Russia-Ukraine war has reduced container handling at many ports around the world. As a result, the position of the Chattogram Port in the Lloyd's list of 2022 also fell behind like many other ports. However, despite the fall in container handling, cargo handling has not decreased in comparison".

"The volume of container handling in 2023 is increasing. The position of the Chattogram Port will advance further in next year's list," he added.

According to the concerned, Lloyd's list is based only on the calculation of container transport at the respective port, without considering the quality of port service. Of the total amount of goods transported through the Chattogram Port, 27% is shipped in containers, and the remaining 73% is transported by open vessel (bulk carriers) tankers.

President of the Chattogram Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahbubul Alam said, "No sooner had the Covid impact vanished than the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. It has an impact on the Chattogram Port and other ports of the world. Hopefully, this crisis will be over in the future. The position of the Chattogram Port on Lloyd's List will further improve".