TDS Desk:

Chattogram Port Chairman Rear Admiral SM Moniruzzaman has claimed that port operations remain functional. However, the situation on the ground tells a different story. Since Sunday morning, operations at jetties, terminals, and the outer anchorage have come to a standstill due to an indefinite strike by workers and employees.

At a press conference held in front of the port building on Sunday afternoon, the chairman said, “Port operations are continuing. There is no obstruction for anyone who wants to work. If anyone creates obstacles, law enforcement agencies will take action.”

He further claimed that port officials and staff had joined work and that vehicular movement was ongoing.

Yet, visits around 1:30 pm to Gate No 4 of the port, the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT), and adjacent entry points revealed no movement of cargo-laden vehicles. There was also no activity of container loading or unloading from ships.

Multiple port-related sources said that attempts were made in the morning to resume limited operations with the support of law enforcement agencies. However, the initiative failed as workers and employees did not report for duty. Although a few containers were unloaded from a vessel onto prime mover trailers at the New Mooring Terminal, this was largely part of the formal activities and not part of regular operations.

Ship-handling operators said that, in addition to jetty operations, cargo transfer from large vessels to lighter ships at the outer anchorage has also been suspended. As a result, transportation of both containerised and bulk cargo has effectively come to a halt from today.

Regarding the process of leasing the New Mooring Container Terminal to a foreign operator, the port chairman said no agreement has yet been signed, and negotiations with DP World are still ongoing.

Against the backdrop of the strike, the intensity of the movement has escalated step by step over the past week. From January 31, workers observed eight-hour strikes for three consecutive days, followed by a continuous work stoppage from Tuesday under the banner of the Chattogram Bandar Rokkha Sangram Parishad (the Chattogram Port Protection Movement Committee). Although the programme was suspended for two days after a meeting with the shipping adviser on Thursday, authorities moved the following day to impose travel bans and initiate asset probes against protest leaders. In protest, workers announced a fresh indefinite strike from Saturday.

The four-point demand of the workers and employees includes a declaration that the NCT will not be leased to a foreign operator, removal of the port chairman, withdrawal of punitive measures taken against protesting workers, and assurances that no legal action will be taken over the movement.

Coordinator of the Chattogram Port Protection Movement Committee, Md Ibrahim Khokon, alleged that additional police and army personnel have been deployed in and around the port to suppress the movement. “Several of our committee leaders have been detained. Workers and employees have voluntarily refrained from joining work,” he said.

Uncertainty over port management, the NCT leasing process, and the ongoing labour movement has pushed Chattogram Port into a deep crisis. Port users warn that if the paralysis at the country’s main gateway for imports and exports continues, it could have serious repercussions for supply chains and overall trade and commerce.