In Depth

From hilsa and seaweed to offshore gas and wind, the Bay of Bengal is central to Bangladesh's growth plans. We examine what the latest data shows, where policy is moving, and the risks of over-promising.

Ship exports recovered to $22.5m in FY26, but remain a fraction of the $4bn target set in 2021. We look at what the data shows, where the realistic market lies, and what would have to change for Bangladeshi yards to compete.

World Bank, business and port figures point to transport inefficiency, slow clearance and weak rail links. What has been measured, what is planned, and what is still missing.

In 2022 at least seven direct routes launched from Chattogram as freight soared; by late 2023 most had stopped. What the record shows and what bigger terminals might change.

An average 41% increase took effect in October 2025, followed by shipping-line surcharges. What changed, who pays, and what the port earned in 2025.

Commercial trawler catch fell 21% from FY23 to FY25 and hilsa landings by trawlers 78%, while trawlers fish only a fraction of the EEZ. What the data show and what industry and regulators say.

Bangladesh secured 118,813 sq km of sea by 2014, yet only one offshore field has ever produced. A look at past exits, the failed 2024 round, the 2026 terms and the data gap.

At Bangladesh Marine Academy, the shipping minister said cadets struggle to complete mandatory sea time and that visa problems for seafarers are being taken up with the foreign ministry.