After the Russian-Ukraine war broke out, 166 export goods-laden containers were stuck in several inland container depots at the Chattogram port. They are currently being delivered to Russia via various alternate routes. The products will be unloaded from ships in several Polish and Turkish ports before being transported to Russia by road. Russian purchasers used to receive their goods through several European ports in the past. “We transported 72 of the 166 stranded twenty-foot equivalent containers by an alternative route in the first week of this month,” said Md Ruhul Amin Sikder, secretary-general of the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association. “The ships carrying the containers are already on their way to Poland.”
The rest of the containers would be sent in phases through other routes on demand. All the containers were supposed to be shipped from the Chattogram Port early this month, but it did not happen as large container lines suspended shipping to Russia due to the war in Ukraine.
Some shipping lines have openly declined to move Russia bound cargo, while others are showing reluctance in carrying Russia-bound goods. As a result, dozens of Bangladeshi exporters, mostly apparel manufacturers, started to feel the pinch and they feared that they might lose Russia and other European markets.
Shipping lines said although they arranged the shipment of 166 containers, which reached depots before the announcement of the suspension, they were not taking new bookings for Russia-bound containers.
