Vietnam's seaports are ready to welcome the world's superships

17/07/2024 16:21

The Ministry of Transport approves the policy of allowing ships with large tonnage to enter and leave at 13 ports; renovate and upgrade wharf structures at 59 ports to receive ships with large tonnage.

Container warehouse at Tan Vu port. Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam's seaport system is ready to receive ships with the largest tonnage in the world, attracting 40 large shipping lines in the world to operate.

The problem is that it is necessary to have a safe and appropriate infrastructure and plan to pick up ships to limit the risk of ships running aground, drifting and colliding.

According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Vietnam's system of 34 seaports has 30 ports that have received ships with large tonnage.

Of these 30 ports, there are 13 ports with ports approved by the Ministry of Transport for the policy of allowing ships with large tonnage to enter and leave the port.

In addition, there are 59 ports that have been approved by the Ministry of Transport for the policy of inspecting, renovating and upgrading wharf structures to receive ships with large tonnage.

Vietnam currently has 3 ports on the list of 50 container ports with the largest throughput in the world, including Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and Cai Mep-Thi Vai.

For Cai Mep-Thi Vai port, the Ministry of Transport has also agreed on the policy of allowing container ships with a tonnage of up to 214,121 DWT to reduce the load.

Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration Le Do Muoi assessed that the reception of ships with large tonnage to make goods in seaport areas has contributed to increasing the efficiency of exploitation for shipping lines.

At the same time, reducing transportation costs, increasing competitiveness for Vietnam's seaports, contributing to local and regional socio-economic development.

Statistics in the past 5 years, the number of ships with a tonnage larger than the design in areas with approved ports has increased markedly, from 4,538 in 2019 to 5,474 in 2023.

At the same time, maritime security fees and tonnage fees at port authorities that receive large-tonnage ships also increased from VND 2,779 billion in 2019 to VND 3,450 billion in 2023.

Particularly for the volume of goods through seaports, updated data in the first 6 months of 2024 is estimated at 427,645 million tons, up 18% over the same period; in which, container cargo was estimated at 14.399 million TEU, up 22% over the same period.

In the face of the trend of using large-tonnage ships of the world's maritime industry, as well as Vietnam's demand for import and export of goods by sea, this requires early preparation of infrastructure and ship pick-up plans to meet the demand for large-tonnage ships.

According to Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Shipowners' Association Pham Quoc Long, in order to welcome large ships into the port, many conditions must be met such as tides, wave conditions, bridge landing angle, and tugboat capacity.

Over the past time, the world has had many rare incidents when ships dock. In order to limit risks, in addition to port infrastructure and creeks that must be met, the most important thing is still the coordination of units from authorities, port enterprises, pilots, ship owners, etc. let the ship enter to ensure safety.

Compared to other modes of transportation, road transport has low cost, capable of transporting goods with large volumes, super-long, super-heavy, and traveling long routes.

On the side of Vung Tau Maritime Port Authority, Director Le Van Thuc said that the permanent reception of large-tonnage ships has the risk of the ship being stranded, drifting, colliding... Meanwhile, the study and development of a plan to ensure maritime safety and organize the entry and departure of large-tonnage ships in and out of the port currently does not have a clear legal basis.

A representative of the Vung Tau Port Authority said that it is necessary to summarize, evaluate and on that basis organize the development of circulars and technical standards as a basis for organizing the reception of large-tonnage ships.

According to the Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, currently in specialized planning, large seaports have been planned to welcome large ships. In the future, the maritime industry will consider whether old ports want to receive large ships, assess the level of safety and have certain controls.

The Vietnam Maritime Administration is also proposing to develop an overall research project on the operation of ships with large tonnage in and out of Vietnamese seaports, in order to have an overall and in-depth study and assessment of the inspection and assessment of seaport infrastructure in each region.

On that basis, unify the implementation process and methods so that ports and wharves can take advantage of existing infrastructure to receive ships with large tonnage to ensure safety and compliance with law.

"The strong development of maritime and waterway transport not only helps reduce logistics costs but is also very in line with the green development orientation according to the Government's goals, affirming Vietnam's commitment at COP26," Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Xuan Sang affirmed.

Recently, the Government has approved the adjustment of the Master Plan for the development of Vietnam's seaport system for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, the seaport system has recently ensured the throughput of goods from 1,249 to 1,494 million tons; in which, container cargo is from 46.3 to 54.3 million TEU, excluding international transshipments; passengers from 17.4 to 18.8 million.

In terms of infrastructure, priority is given to the development of Lach Huyen international gateway ports (Hai Phong), Cai Mep-Thi Vai (Ba Ria-Vung Tau), and the construction of Can Gio international transshipment port (Ho Chi Minh City).

In the group of 15 grade 1 seaports, the seaports of Thanh Hoa, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, and Ho Chi Minh City are planned to have the potential to become special seaports.

Source: vietstock.vn