Operations at Chattogram Port are nearly paralyzed as workers stage a strike protesting the government’s decision to lease the New Mooring Container Terminal (NCT) to foreign operators. Since 8 a.m., the movement of containers and cargo on and off ships at the port’s jetties has been disrupted.

The disruption is due to the absence of port employees and private workers assigned to the port.

The port’s nationalist workers’ union called the strike on Thursday to protest the lease of NCT to DP World, a UAE-based company. Under the plan, all operational activities were suspended today from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a similar eight-hour halt in administrative and operational work scheduled for Sunday.

Following the start of the strike at 8 a.m., operations were disrupted at three terminals—GCB, CCT, and NCT. Loading and unloading of containers from ships at these terminals have come to a near standstill. Only the export containers brought from private depots at NCT are being loaded onto ships.

Fazle Ekram Chowdhury, president of the port operators’ association BOTSWA, told Prothom Alo that despite efforts to arrange workers for the GCB terminal, none reported to work, and machinery operators also did not show up, halting operations.

Ibrahim Khokon, general secretary of the Chattogram Port Nationalist Workers’ Union, said employees and workers joined the strike voluntarily and that the protest would continue until 4 p.m.