in 1702 In the 2nd century, Chittagong harbor appeared on
Ptolemy's map, drawn by the Greco-Roman cartographer
Claudius Ptolemy. The map mentions the harbor as one of the finest in the Eastern world. Arab traders played an important role in spreading Islam in the region. The port appears in the travelogues of Chinese explorers
Xuanzang and
Ma Huan. The Moroccan explorer
Ibn Battuta and the
Venetian traveler
Niccolo De Conti visited the port in the 14th century. The historical port had ship trade with Africa, Europe, China and Southeast Asia. The
Portuguese settlement in Chittagong centered on the port in the 16th and 17th centuries. After the Portuguese were expelled, Chittagong came under the rule of the
Mughal Empire and was named Islamabad. It became an important
shipbuilding center, catering to the Mughal and
Ottoman navies. After the rise of British dominance in Bengal following the Battle of Plassey and Battle of Buxar, the
Nawab of Bengal ceded the port to the
British East India Company in 1772.
Modern Administrative Building The modern Chittagong port was organized in 1887 under the Port Commissioners Act in the
British Indian Empire. The port began formal operations under a commissioner in 1888. Its busiest trade links were with
British Burma, including the ports of
Akyab and
Rangoon; and other Bengali ports, including
Calcutta,
Dhaka and
Narayanganj. In the year 1889–90 the port handled exports totalling 125,000 tons. The
Strand Road was built beside the harbour. Between 1905 and 1911, Chittagong was the chief seaport of
Eastern Bengal and Assam. It was made the terminus of the
Assam Bengal Railway. Hence, the port's hinterland included all of
colonial Assam (modern
Northeast India). Trade between British India and British Burma rapidly increased in the early 20th century. The Bay of Bengal became one of the busiest shipping hubs in the world, rivaling the traffic of ports on the
Atlantic. In 1928, the British government declared Chittagong as a "Major Port" of British India. Chittagong was important for the petroleum industry that developed in
Assam and
Burma. It was used for
jute and rice trading. During
World War II, Chittagong port was used by
Allied Forces in the
Burma Campaign. After the partition of British India, the governor general of the
Dominion of Pakistan,
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, visited Chittagong and stressed its importance and future potential. The Chittagong Port Trust was formed in
East Pakistan in 1960. 100 employees of the Chittagong Port were killed during the
Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The port has benefited from the growth of
heavy industry and
logistics in the Chittagong Metropolitan Area in the years following independence. Trade unionism was strong in the late 1990s. A major expansion took place with the construction of the New Mooring Terminal in the first decade of the 21st century. On 29 June 2025, the port was closed due to a strike by
National Board of Revenue employees protesting against plans to split the agency. The port reopened the next day following negotiations between the strikers and the finance ministry. ==Management==