The Chittagong Port ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম বন্দর) is the main
seaport
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
of
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. Located in Bangladesh's port city of
Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
and on the banks of the
Karnaphuli River
Karnaphuli ( bn, কর্ণফুলি ''Kôrnophuli''; also spelt Karnafuli), or Khawthlangtuipui (in Mizo, meaning "western river"), is the largest and most important river in Chattogram and the Chattogram Hill Tracts. It is a wide rive ...
, the port handles over 90 percent of Bangladesh's export-import trade, and has been used by
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
and
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
for
transshipment
Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination.
One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...
. According to
Lloyd's
Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gov ...
, it ranked as the 58th busiest container port in the world in 2019. The port is one of the oldest in the world, with a recorded history dating back to ancient Roman accounts.
It is the busiest container port on the
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line between ...
.
Congestion is a major challenge in Chittagong port. The port had a congestion rate of 84.3 hours between January and July in 2017.
History
![Moored boats from Arakan or Chittagong](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Moored_boats_from_Arakan_or_Chittagong.jpg)
The Chittagong area has been a recorded seaport since the 4th century BCE. In the 2nd century, the harbor appeared on
Ptolemy's map
The Ptolemy world map is a map of the world known to Greco-Roman societies in the 2nd century. It is based on the description contained in Ptolemy's book ''Geography'', written . Based on an inscription in several of the earliest surviving manusc ...
, drawn by the Greco-Roman cartographer
Claudius Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
. The map mentions the harbor as one of the finest in the Eastern world. The ''
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea
The ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' ( grc, Περίπλους τῆς Ἐρυθρᾶς Θαλάσσης, ', modern Greek '), also known by its Latin name as the , is a Greco-Roman periplus written in Koine Greek that describes navigation and ...
'' documents trade between Chittagong and private merchants from
Roman Egypt
, conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt
, common_name = Egypt
, subdivision = Province
, nation = the Roman Empire
, era = Late antiquity
, capital = Alexandria
, title_leader = Praefectus Augustalis
, image_map = Roman E ...
.
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
traders frequented Chittagong since the 9th century.
In 1154,
Al-Idrisi noted that merchants from
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
and
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...
regularly travelled to Chittagong. Arab traders played an important role in spreading Islam in the region. The port appears in the travelogues of Chinese explorers
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
and
Ma Huan
Ma Huan (, Xiao'erjing: ) (c. 1380–1460), courtesy name Zongdao (), pen name Mountain-woodcutter (會稽山樵), was a Chinese voyager and translator who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans. Ma ...
. The Moroccan explorer
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
and the
Venetian traveler
Niccolo De Conti visited the port in the 14th century. The historical port had ship trade with Africa, Europe, China and Southeast Asia.
The
Portuguese settlement in Chittagong
Chittagong, the second largest city and main port of Bangladesh, was home to a thriving trading post of the Portuguese Empire in the East in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Portuguese first arrived in Chittagong around 1528 and left in 1666 af ...
centered on the port in the 16th and 17th centuries. After the Portuguese were expelled, Chittagong came under the rule of the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
and was named Islamabad. It became an important
shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...
center, catering to the Mughal and
Ottoman navies. After the rise of British dominance in Bengal following the Battle of Plassey, the
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar, ...
ceded the port to the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
in 1760.
Modern
![Chittagong port 1960](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Chittagong_port_1960.jpg)
![Chittagong port authority building](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Chittagong_port_authority_building.JPG)
The modern Chittagong port was organized in 1887 under the Port Commissioners Act in the
British Indian Empire
The British Raj (; from Hindi language, Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Q ...
. The port began formal operations under a commissioner in 1888. Its busiest trade links were with
British Burma, including the ports of
Akyab
Sittwe (; ; formerly Akyab) is the capital of Rakhine State, Myanmar (Burma). Sittwe, pronounced ''sait-tway'' in the Rakhine language, is located on an estuarial island created at the confluence of the Kaladan, Mayu, and Lay Mro rivers emptyi ...
and
Rangoon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
;
and other Bengali ports, including
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
,
Dhaka
Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...
and
Narayanganj. In the year 1889–90 the port handled exports totalling 125,000 tons.
The
Strand Road was built beside the harbour. Between 1905 and 1911, Chittagong was the chief seaport of
Eastern Bengal and Assam
Eastern Bengal and Assam was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India between 1905 and 1912. Headquartered in the city of Dacca, it covered territories in what are now Bangladesh, Northeast India and Northern West Bengal.
Hist ...
. It was made the terminus of the
Assam Bengal Railway
The Assam Bengal Railway (ABR) was one of the pioneering railway companies in British India. Headquartered in Chittagong, it functioned from 1892 to 1942.
History
Assam Bengal Railway was incorporated in 1892 to serve British-owned tea planta ...
. Hence, the port's hinterland included all of
colonial Assam
Colonial Assam (1826–1947) refers to the period of History of Assam between the signing of the Treaty of Yandabo and Independence of India when Assam was under the British colonial rule. The political institutions and social relations that wer ...
(modern
Northeast India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
). Trade between British India and British Burma rapidly increased in the early 20th century. The Bay of Bengal became one of the busiest shipping hubs in the world, rivaling the traffic of ports on the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
. In 1928, the British government declared Chittagong as a "Major Port" of British India.
Chittagong was important for the petroleum industry that developed in
Assam
Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
and
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. It was used for
jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny bast fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', which is in the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ''Corchorus olit ...
and rice trading. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Chittagong port was used by
Allied Forces in the
Burma Campaign.
After the partition of British India, the governor general of the
Dominion of Pakistan
Between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, Pakistan was an independent federal dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created the Dominion of I ...
,
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
, visited Chittagong and stressed its importance and future potential.
The Chittagong Port Trust was formed in
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
in 1960. 100 employees of the Chittagong Port were killed during the
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War ( bn, মুক্তিযুদ্ধ, , also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, or simply the Liberation War in Bangladesh) was a revolution and War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Benga ...
in 1971.
The
Soviet Pacific Fleet
, image = Great emblem of the Pacific Fleet.svg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Russian Pacific Fleet Great emblem
, dates = 1731–present
, country ...
was tasked with mine clearing and salvage operations in the port after the war. The port has benefited from the growth of
heavy industry
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...
and
logistics
Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics manages the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requirements of ...
in the Chittagong Metropolitan Area in the years following independence. Trade unionism was strong in the late 1990s.
A major expansion took place with the construction of the New Mooring Terminal in the first decade of the 21st century.
Management
The
Chittagong Port Authority
Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) is a government agency of Bangladesh responsible for the management, maintenance and governance of the country's major port of Chittagong, located in the city of Chittagong on the Karnaphuli River nine nautical m ...
is responsible for the port's management.
Facilities
Berths
Container terminals
![Stacking Intermodal container in Port of Chittagong (08)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Stacking_Intermodal_container_in_Port_of_Chittagong_%2808%29.jpg)
The port depends on several
container terminal
A container port or container terminal is a facility where cargo containers are transshipped between different transport vehicles, for onward transportation. The transshipment may be between container ships and land vehicles, for example train ...
s, most of which are owned by private companies.
*New Mooring Terminal
*Chittagong Container Terminal
*KDS Logistics Terminal
*Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) Terminal
*Summit Alliance Container Terminal
*Vertex Off Dock Logistic Terminal
*QNS Container Terminal
*Shafi Motors Terminal
*K & T Logistic Terminal
*Esack Brothers Terminal
*Chittagong Container Transportation Company Limited Terminal
*Port Link Logistic Terminal
*M/s. Incontrade Terminal
*M/s. Golden Container Terminal
*M/s. Saber Ahmed Timber Terminal
*M/s. Eastern Logistics Terminal
*B. M. Container Terminal
*Nemsan Container Terminal
Industrial terminals
![ERL pic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/ERL_pic.jpg)
*
Eastern Refinery Terminal
*Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company (KAFCO) Terminal
*
Jamuna Oil Company
Jamuna Oil Company Ltd (JOCL) (estd. as Pakistan National Oil in 1964; renamed as Bangladesh National Oil in 1972) ( DSEbr>JOCL is a subsidiary of the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation that nationally markets octane, petrol, diesel, kerosene, fu ...
Terminal
*
Padma Oil Company
, logo =
, logo caption =
, type = Registrar with joint stock company as a Public limited company under Company Act 1913
, industry = Petroleum,
, fate =
, predecessor = Burmah Oil Company
, successor =
, founded =
, founder =
, ...
Terminal
*Meghna Petroleum Terminal
*Omera Fuels Limited Terminal
Security
![BNS Somudra Joy (10502298763)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/BNS_Somudra_Joy_%2810502298763%29.jpg)
The
Bangladesh Coast Guard
The Bangladesh Coast Guard ( bn, বাংলাদেশ কোস্ট গার্ড; BCG) is the maritime law enforcement force of Bangladesh. It is a paramilitary force which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Its ...
is responsible for security in the vicinity of the port.
Naval and air base
The
Bangladesh Navy
The Bangladesh Navy ( bn, বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible for Bangladesh's of maritime territorial area, and the defence of imp ...
's largest naval base, the
BNS Issa Khan, and the
Bangladesh Naval Academy
The Bangladesh Naval Academy is situated at the mouth of the Karnaphuli River at Patenga, Chittagong District, Bangladesh. Bathed by the river Karnaphuli on the east and sheltered on the south by the Bay of Bengal, BNA stands in a panoramic nat ...
are located in Chittagong port. The port is the home base of the most of the Bangladesh Navy fleet, including its submarine fleet. The Chittagong Naval Area often hosts joint exercises with the navies of other countries, as well as visiting foreign naval vessels. A missile launch pad is located near the port. The
Bangladesh Air Force
The Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) ( bn, বাংলাদেশ বিমান বাহিনী, Bangladesh Biman Bahini) is the aerial warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces. The Air Force is primarily responsible for air defence of B ...
maintains its BAF Zahurul Haq Air Base near the port. In addition, the Bangladesh Navy operates an airborne maritime surveillance wing.
Piracy
The year 2000 had the highest number of Piracy attacks in the recorded history of Chittagong. Many of the raids resulted in the theft of
mooring lines and
Zinc anode and other movable ship equipments. In 2005 it had the highest pirate attacks in a port area in the world. The Government of Bangladesh has increased Navy and Coast Guard presence in the area. According to ICC
International Maritime Bureau
The International Maritime Bureau is a specialized department of the International Chamber of Commerce.
The IMB's responsibilities lie in fighting crimes related to maritime trade and transportation, particularly piracy and commercial fraud, and ...
(IMB) Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships-2019 Report, incidents in Bangladesh have fallen significantly over the past few years because of the effort of Bangladesh Authorities.
There was no incident of piracy or armed robbery in 2019.
Disasters
At night on 4 June 2022, the BM Inland Container Depot, a Dutch-Bangladesh joint venture broke out following explosions in a container full of chemicals. The fire continued to spread and the explosions shattered the windows of nearby buildings. It was felt as far as 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away. At least 9 firefighters from
Bangladesh fire service and civil defense were reported dead and the death toll reached to 49 by Sunday evening.
See also
List of Ports in Bangladesh
References
External links
Article on Chittagong Port Banglapedia
''Banglapedia:'' ''the'' ''National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh'' is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bengali and English. The print version comprises fourteen 500-page volumes. The f ...
Chittagong Port Authority WebsiteChittagong Port Ship Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Port Of Chittagong
Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
Buildings and structures in Chittagong
Agrabad
Karnaphuli River
Economy of Chittagong
Transport in Chittagong