CHATTOGRAM, Aug 19: Chittagong port has upheld the position of the 67th busiest container port among 100 top ports globally this year, according to the latest Lloyd's List.
Last year too, the country's prime seaport occupied the same slot in the Lloyd's List, the world's oldest journal on ports and shipping.
The 2023 edition of the Lloyd's List of One Hundred Ports was published on August 12, tallying up the annual container throughput figures of the global elite port facilities in 2023.
Sources said Chittagong port ranked 67th in 2022, 64th in 2021, 58th in 2020, 64th in 2019, 70th in 2018 and 71st in 2017 in the list.
The port posted 5.36-per cent growth in container handling and a 4.18-per cent rise in cargo handling in fiscal year (FY) 2023-24, which ended on 30 June 2024.
It could attain the growth despite 6.63-per cent decline in incoming ships in the year amid import restrictions due to a dearth of forex reserve.
Data shows the port handled 3.169-million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of containers and 123.2-million tonnes of cargo in FY2024, up from the handling of 3.07-million TEUs and 118.3-million tonnes in FY2023.
In FY2024, the port handled fewer vessels, numbering 3,971, compared to 4,253 vessels in the previous year.
China's dominant position in the port sector shows little sign of fading, with its containerised trade representing nearly 40 per cent of overall TEUs.
According to Lloyd's, the Chinese port of Shanghai holds the top spot and Singapore port is on the second position in this year's chart.
CPA secretary Mohammed Omar Faruk said, "Chittagong Port obtained 67th position among 100 ports of the world. The Russia-Ukraine war and reserve shortage hampered maritime trade in 2023. Yet, Chittagong port could uphold the same position."
"We hope to overcome the situation this year," he added.
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