Bangladesh Unrest Leads To Logistics Delays

Imports and exports through Bangladesh have been heavily disrupted during the past few days due to the ongoing anti-government protests and violence between police and students, which has resulted in numerous casualties.

Internet connections in the country were cut by the government last week and a curfew was enforced on Saturday, halting operations at ports and airports. While limited internet has been restored for the emergency services, hospitals, airports and ports, the flow of air and ocean freight cargo has been significantly impacted.

A dozen containerships have been waiting outside the port of Chittagong at anchorage and customs procedures have been delayed due to the loss of internet. Dhaka airport has become jam packed with cargo as an estimated 3,000-3,500 tonnes of cargo has backed up during the past few days.

Ocean and air freight delays are inevitable during the next 2/3 weeks as backlogs are hopefully cleared. And, while some factories have started to re-open, others remain closed without internet, so there may be delays in export production.