Persistent rain and flooding have disrupted cargo handling, storage and transport at the Chattogram port, threatening substantial losses to Bangladesh’s external trade and prompting the country’s leading business figures to demand an independent inquiry to determine liability for damage to goods held in the port’s custody.
In a joint letter sent to Shipping Minister Shaikh Rabiul Alam on July 12, the executives also sought coordinated fiscal and policy support for affected industries, a waiver of several charges on stranded cargo, and a special assessment committee to quantify the financial toll.
The signatories include Mohammed Amirul Haque, president of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI); Showkat Aziz Russell, president of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA); Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA); and Mohammed Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
The letter urged the government to act swiftly, in line with its investment-friendly stance, to clear logjams at the port and along connecting road and rail networks. It noted that heavy rainfall had severely hampered cargo movement, leaving imported cotton, yarn, chemicals, foodstuffs and other moisture-sensitive raw materials vulnerable to degradation.
They added that delayed export consignments — including ready-made garments, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products — risk order cancellations, forced discounts, penalties and costly shifts to air freight. Such disruptions threaten both export earnings and supply-chain stability, the leaders warned.
Torrential rain since July 5 has submerged various yards across the port and at private container depots, damaging both import and export cargo, the letter added. In a notice issued on July 10, the port authority rejected any claim for compensation and said it would accept no liability in the matter.
The Chittagong Port Authority earlier stated that damage caused by the recent natural disaster constitutes an Act of God, citing Regulation 199(14) of the Regulations for Working of Chittagong Port (Cargo and Container), 2001. The port authority therefore rejected, disclaimed and refused to accept any claim for compensation brought by any party in connection with cargo losses arising from the natural disaster.
“Excess rainfall or any natural cause is beyond our control, so the port is exempt from liability for cargo and container damage or loss,” Syed Refayet Hamim, secretary of the port, told Bonik Barta. “Keeping containers in yards is standard practice worldwide. The port yards are also built high.”
Business leaders countered that this unilateral stance has provoked sharp discontent across the trading community. They argued that if the damage stems from structural deficits, inadequate drainage or management failure, an impartial investigation must assign responsibility and secure redress to prevent an erosion of user confidence in the country’s main trade gateway.
They said the prolonged detention of goods has saddled traders with mounting demurrage, port rent and shipping fees. Concurrently, disrupted raw material supplies are squeezing factory output, cash flow, wage payments and loan instalments, leaving small and medium enterprises under the greatest strain.
Mohammed Amirul Haque, the CCCI president, told Bonik Barta: “The Chattogram port is the country’s principal gateway for international trade. The disruption caused by prolonged rain and flooding to the port and its connected road and rail networks must be cleared without delay. An independent investigation should also determine responsibility for damage to cargo held in the port’s custody, and affected businesses should receive fair redress.”
Haque added: “Businesses are already under pressure from additional demurrage, detention, storage and other charges. Those costs should therefore be reduced on reasonable grounds, alongside coordinated financial and policy support for affected industries and businesses.”