Chattogram Port Tariff Changes: Confirm the Current Schedule Before the PDA

If your last Bangladesh PDA is more than a few months old, the numbers on it are probably out of date. Chittagong Port Authority's revised tariff schedule took effect on 15 October 2025, raising charges across the port's services by an average of about 41%, the first full-scale revision of the schedule since 1986. This isn't a rumour or a proposal still under discussion; it's gazetted, it's in force, and every vessel calling at Chittagong today is being billed under the new schedule. For a live appointment, confirm the current authority notice, vessel particulars, cargo or service scope and third-party availability before relying on a published planning figure.

What actually went up

The increase isn't a flat 41% across every line item, it's an average, and individual charges moved by very different amounts. Container handling rose by roughly 37% on one reported measure, and by more on the lift-on lift-off line. A waiting-time surcharge applies when a ship cannot berth on schedule, reported as rising to 900% beyond 36 hours; confirm against the gazette schedule. Pilotage, tug services and mooring charges were also revised upward, with tug charges now varying by vessel size. Exact figures depend on vessel type, size and service category, so treat any number here as a planning guide, confirm the current line-item rate against the Chattogram Port Authority gazette schedule before finalising a PDA.

Chittagong only, Mongla and Matarbari are unaffected

This revision applies to Chittagong Port specifically. Mongla continues to operate under its own MPA tariff schedule (see our separate article on what's on a Mongla port bill), and Matarbari's charges are governed by its own developing framework. If your vessel is routed through Mongla or Matarbari rather than Chittagong, this specific increase doesn't apply to your call, though it's still worth asking your agent to confirm which schedule governs your PDA before assuming either way.

What this means for budgeting a Chittagong call

Port-side charges (berthing, pilotage, container handling, tug services) are billed by the port authority and pass through to your PDA largely unchanged by us, we don't set these rates, we itemise them accurately. Our own agency fees, including crew change formalities, are separate line items and aren't affected by this port tariff revision. The practical impact is mainly on total port-side cost per call, and it's most pronounced for vessels that wait longer than planned to berth, given the waiting-time surcharge. Building in a realistic berth-to-departure timeline matters more now than it did under the old schedule.

Where things stand

The increase has drawn pushback from Chittagong's business community and the Bangladesh Shipping Agents Association, who've argued for a smaller, phased increase rather than a single 41% jump, and some trade bodies have called for the decision to be reconsidered. The tariff was challenged in the High Court and stayed for a month in November 2025; the Appellate Division then allowed CPA to proceed, and CPA reinstated the revised rates on 30 November 2025. A separate High Court rule on its legality was still pending in the reports we found. As of this writing, the revised tariff remains in effect and is what's actually being billed. We're watching for any further government response and will update this page if the schedule changes again, but we'd rather flag that possibility honestly than quote you a number that might not hold.

How CPA handles this

Every PDA we issue is built from the current gazette-notified tariff, not a cached number from a previous call. If you're working from a quote or budget estimate that predates October 2025, it's worth requesting a fresh PDA rather than assuming the old figure still holds, the gap between old and new rates is large enough to matter for voyage estimates and charter party cost allocation alike.