Chittagong, Bangladesh's largest port, has once again ground to a complete halt due to a massive strike by workers.

The strike was triggered by the government's plan to lease the newly constructed container berthing terminal to the UAE-based Universal Ports Group. As a critical hub handling over 90% of the nation's maritime trade, the port shutdown has triggered severe ripple effects.

According to the Business Standard, 46 cargo ships are currently stranded in the outer anchorage, with approximately 210,000 tons of consumer goods unable to be unloaded. Thousands of heavy trucks are immobilized both inside and outside the port area, creating a double bottleneck where “ships cannot unload and goods cannot be transported out.”

More alarmingly, tens of thousands of tons of essential supplies like wheat, pulses, and oilseeds are also piling up, while the peak consumption period of Ramadan (expected to begin on February 19) looms.

Workers protested that foreign takeover of key assets would threaten jobs and national interests, vowing to “fight for survival and national interests.” Despite the High Court dismissing legal challenges against the lease agreement and the Port Authority denying plans to lay off employees, the sudden reassignment of 12 workers from sensitive positions on February 1 further escalated tensions.

Meanwhile, longstanding port issues like chronic storage shortages and a sharp decline in barges from 1,200 to 1,022 have been dramatically magnified by the strike. If the deadlock persists, the already strained logistics system could suffer severe damage, dealing a heavy blow to exports and the overall economy.