The Vietnam Maritime Administration has sent a document to the Ministry of Transport (GTVT) to comment on the receipt of vessels of 200,148 DWT tonnage entering and leaving Saigon Port International Container Terminal – SSA (SSIT), Ba Ria province – Vung Tau.

Accordingly, SSIT Wharf was announced by the Vietnam Maritime Administration to open to receive ships with a tonnage of up to 160,000DWT in June 2021; The Ministry of Transport has approved the policy to allow the study and preparation of a plan to receive ships with a tonnage of up to 200,000DWT in November 2017.

On that basis, the investor cooperates with the consulting unit to organize the assessment and inspection of the port structure, to be appraised by the Construction Investment Management Department and notified of the results of the assessment of the ability to receive 199,273DWT ships. 

The Ministry of Transport has also agreed to allow the organization to test the acceptance of 199,273DWT container ships entering and leaving SSIT Wharf in October 2022; The Vietnam Maritime Administration has approved the plan to ensure maritime safety for container ships from 166,000DWT to 199,273DWT entering and leaving SSIT Wharf at the end of November 2022.

For the request to receive the MSC JADE vessel with a tonnage of 200,148DWT entering and leaving SSIT Wharf, the Vietnam Maritime Administration informed that at present, at the Cai Mep container terminal, the Ministry of Transport has allowed studying and has organized the reception of many ships with a tonnage of up to 214,121 DWT to reduce load safely at Cai Mep International Terminal (at the upstream side of SSIT Wharf).

In addition, the Ministry of Transport also has a document supporting the policy of adjusting the planning of Cai Mep Gemadept Port – Terminal Link to receive ships up to 250,000DWT and a document agreeing on the policy to allow OOCL SPAIN ships with a tonnage of up to 232,495 DWT in and out of the harbor.

Currently, the Vung Tau – Thi Vai navigational channel route through SSIT Wharf has been announced with a bottom elevation of -14.0m (Natogram).

On February 18, 2023, the Ministry of Transport kicked off the construction investment project of upgrading the Cai Mep – Thi Vai fairway route from buoy number “0” to the Cai Mep container terminal, in which the section of the channel passes through the harbor. SSIT has a scale of dredging to an altitude of -15.5m (Natogram), and a channel width of 350m.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2024 and can accommodate ships with a tonnage of up to 200,000 DWT/18,000 TEU offloaded or larger (meeting maritime safety conditions) for one-way operation.

According to the report of Saigon Port International Container Service Joint Venture Company – SSA, the investor has coordinated with a specialized consulting unit to review, calculate and evaluate the responsiveness of the port infrastructure and compare it with the above-approved plan to ensure maritime safety.

Specifically, the MSC JADE ship has a size of 398.45x59m, but when entering and leaving the port, it only carries a reduced load of less than the tonnage of the ship 199,273DWT.

It is known that Cai Mep container terminal is the seaport area of Vietnam to receive the world’s largest container ships today to travel long distances (Europe, America) and has been studied by detailed shipping lines, the safety conditions of the channel, and wharf before deciding to put the ship to the test.

To improve the competitiveness of Vietnam’s container ports with other ports in the region and effectively exploit the port infrastructure, the Vietnam Maritime Administration supports the policy with a proposal to research and receive, and test ships. MSC JADE reduces the load in and out of SSIT Terminal.

To ensure the receipt of the MSC JADE ship, the investor needs to coordinate with the specialized consulting unit and related units to review and implement the plan to ensure maritime safety, the plan to tow, return, and a plan for monitoring, monitoring and handling the port structure… to ensure the safety of ships entering, leaving, anchoring and handling goods at the port.

If approved by the Ministry of Transport, the Vietnam Maritime Administration will be responsible for guiding relevant agencies and units in the implementation process to comply with the provisions of law and Decree No. 58 2017 of the Government “Detailing several articles of the Vietnam Maritime Code on the management of maritime activities” to ensure maritime safety, maritime security, fire and explosion prevention and pollution prevention. environment.

Source: Bao Dien tu Dang Cong san