Why Your Container Stops at Colombo, Singapore, or Port Klang

Almost every container leaving Bangladesh changes ships at a hub. Here is what that means for your delivery date.

Track a container from Chattogram to Rotterdam and it changes ships somewhere in the middle. This is transshipment, and it happens to almost every box that leaves Bangladesh.

Why it happens

The biggest ships do not call at Chattogram. A feeder vessel carries your container to a large hub, where a crane lifts it onto a mother vessel bound for Europe or America.

The hubs that matter

• Colombo, the busiest connection for Bangladesh cargo heading west.
• Singapore, one of the world's largest transshipment ports.
• Port Klang and Tanjung Pelepas, major hubs for Europe and trans-Pacific services.

Where the risk hides

If the feeder arrives late or the hub is congested, your container can miss its mother vessel and the next sailing may be a week away. Someone has to be watching, which is why KWT monitors every connection.