UP to three container jetties at Bangladesh's Chittagong port remain vacant every day this month due to the arrival of a lower number of ships.

This is totally opposite scenario to the normal period for the country's prime seaport which had been frequently facing vessel congestions in the past and long queue of ships at the outer anchorage.

The berthing report of Chittagong Port shows that on September 18, two jetties remained vacant while three jetties remained vacant on the previous day. Additionally, for the period September 3-14, one to two jetties remained vacant on different days on average.

Stakeholders say the arrival of fewer ships was caused by a drastic fall in imports amid tough measures taken by the government owing to the dollar crunch. The country's foreign currency reserve is now almost halved compared to August 2021 due to a fall in forex earnings through exporting goods and inflow of remittance.

There are ten dedicated jetties for container vessels and six jetties for bulk carriers at the Chittagong port, according to Greece's Container News.