<p data-path-to-node="2"><b data-path-to-node="2" data-index-in-node="0">CHITTAGONG —</b> Confronting mounting quayside space constraints and aiming to preserve high vessel-loading velocity ahead of peak seasonal sailings, the Chittagong Port Authority (CPA), in direct coordination with the Chittagong Custom House and the Bangladesh Inland Container Depots Association (BICDA), has issued an emergency operational directive enforcing a mandatory direct-to-offdock evacuation protocol for all empty ocean containers discharged at primary port terminals.</p><p data-path-to-node="3">Under the enforceable framework, empty container boxes offloaded from arriving common feeder vessels at the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT), Chittagong Container Terminal (CCT), and Patenga Container Terminal (PCT) are strictly prohibited from lingering within primary waterfront storage blocks. Instead, ocean container carriers and licensed clearing and forwarding (C&amp;F) agents must transfer empty equipment directly to designated private off-dock Inland Container Depots (ICDs) across the Patenga and Faujdarhat industrial corridors within a mandatory 24-hour window post-discharge. Any empty units exceeding this threshold will automatically incur escalating daily ground-rent surcharges and demurrage penalties debited directly against carrier operating accounts.</p><p data-path-to-node="4">The intervention addresses an acute spatial imbalance across Bangladesh’s primary maritime gateway. With international liner networks adjusting sailing schedules and repositioning equipment across South Asia, offloaded empty containers rapidly accumulated inside waterfront holding yards, pushing terminal stacking densities past the critical 85% operational limit. When quayside storage yards reach these saturation levels, ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes and rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes are forced into non-productive container reshuffling to unearth specific boxes. This operational friction has lengthened vessel port stays and forced incoming common feeder vessels operating high-frequency loops to Colombo, Singapore, and Port Klang into prolonged outer anchorage queues along the Karnaphuli River approach.</p><p data-path-to-node="5">To execute the direct-to-offdock evacuation without snarling port perimeter gates, the CPA and BICDA have deployed an automated dispatch workflow:</p><ul data-path-to-node="6"><li><p data-path-to-node="6,0,0"><b data-path-to-node="6,0,0" data-index-in-node="0">Direct-to-Offdock Quota Allocation:</b> Ocean carriers must pre-allocate discharged empty inventories directly to licensed private ICDs prior to vessel berthing. The 19 private off-dock depots encircling Chattogram, which maintain a cumulative holding capacity exceeding 105,000 TEUs, serve as the dedicated storage, maintenance, and empty-repositioning buffer.</p></li><li><p data-path-to-node="6,1,0"><b data-path-to-node="6,1,0" data-index-in-node="0">Automated RFID and Smart-Gate Validation:</b> Prime movers and heavy skeletal trailers hauling empty containers out of the terminal gates pass through high-speed Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and RFID scanner gantries. Equipment condition records and container identification numbers are validated in motion, allowing trucks to exit harbor boundaries in under 30 seconds without manual paperwork delays.</p></li><li><p data-path-to-node="6,2,0"><b data-path-to-node="6,2,0" data-index-in-node="0">Dedicated Evacuation Convoys:</b> Transport operators utilize scheduled, round-the-clock drayage corridors, shifting high-volume empty equipment blocks during evening and off-peak hours to prevent localized traffic bottlenecks along the Dhaka–Chittagong highway approach.</p></li></ul><p data-path-to-node="7">The primary objective of the directive is to protect Bangladesh’s core economic driver: the Ready-Made Garment (RMG) export industry. Apparel factories situated across Gazipur, Savar, Narayanganj, and the Chattogram Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) operate on rigid, synchronized manufacturing lead times to meet seasonal retail replenishment dates across Western Europe and North America. By immediately clearing waterfront aprons of empty boxes, the CPA frees up essential ground slots and crane cycles exclusively for export-laden garment containers. This enables export trucks arriving from inland factories and off-dock stuffing depots to roll directly under quayside cranes, ensuring containers make scheduled feeder connections without vessel rollovers or costly airfreight diversions.</p><p data-path-to-node="8">Senior administrative leadership at the Chittagong Port Authority emphasized that waterfront container docks must operate strictly as high-velocity transit conduits rather than indefinite storage yards. The mandatory 24-hour empty evacuation protocol ensures that terminal aprons maintain optimal maneuvering room, decompressing waterfront density and safeguarding schedule reliability for Bangladesh’s international export trade.</p>