Bangladesh sea and air update 06/06/23

Sea freight and Chittagong port

• The average waiting time for gearless vessels is 2-3 days, while geared deep draught and shallow draught vessels wait for 1-2 days. The berthing position remains the same at three terminals: CCT, NCT, and GCB. The average delay time at these terminals is 2-3 days, except for the General Container Berth (GCB) which operates as per the berthing schedule.
• The port currently holds 36,780 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) of containers, with a capacity of 53,518 TEUs. 970 TEUs have been delivered from the port to 3,842 TEUs of imports discharged from vessels. The auction area is nearly covered by 7,004 TEUs. Only 3% of the available capacity is being used for EPZ cargo dumps, which is average. There are 1,270 TEUs of empty containers at the port, and 1,761 TEUs of MTY container shipment from the port.
• The off-dock situation is that there is relatively little cargo traffic. Private Inland Container Depots (ICDs) are struggling due to decreased exports and imports resulting from a slowdown in the global economy. There's a shortage of import containers in the Container Yard. ZIM and YML are experiencing an empty carrier shortage, but it is tolerable.

Air freight and Dhaka airport

• The DAC Air Market continues its slow yet steady trend, just as we've observed over the past few weeks. Several factors are contributing to the current low market demand, including inflation in the USA and the EU region, the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the increased price of commodities.
• Space capacity remains stable due to the low volume of cargo. As a result, rates have also stabilized, presenting an opportune time for negotiations with carriers. This is particularly relevant since the low volume of cargo continues to be the norm in both the US and EU regions.
• Operations at the DAC airport cargo village are running smoothly with no reported backlogs to date. All standard scanners are fully operational and functioning without any interruptions.
• At least eight foreign airlines have expressed interest in entering the Bangladesh aviation market due to promising business prospects. According to sources, the number of foreign airlines operating in Bangladesh will potentially exceed 40, rising from the current 33, following the planned soft launch of the third terminal at Dhaka airport in October this year.