National Desk :
Freight rates for the Bangladesh-China route have more than doubled over the past six months due to container delays at major ports like Shanghai, Ningbo, Singapore and Colombo amid supply chain disruptions caused by the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
At Singapore port, a major transshipment route for Bangladesh, it takes about 7 days for a ship to get berthing in place of one-and-half days at normal time, according to data from container shipping analysis firm Linerlytica. Charges have increased by 50 per cent at Singapore and 15 per cent at Colombo port.
A senior official at the Bangladesh office of a global shipping company told that congestion at ports in China and Singapore causes supply disruption for most of Bangladesh’s imported goods, especially industrial raw materials, electronic products, and machinery, that come from China to Bangladesh via transshipment ports.
Goods are transported from Chattogram port to ports in China, as well as to European and American ports, via transshipment ports such as Singapore, Port Klang, Colombo, and Tanjung Pelepas.
Bangladesh Shipping Agents’ Association Senior Vice Chairman Syed Iqbal Ali Shimul told that freight charges are now sky-high for two reasons. They are firstly, the detour in transporting goods due to Houthi militant attacks in the Red Sea and secondly, congestion at ports in various countries, including Singapore and China.”