Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has paid due attention to the development ofmaritime transport, which is seen as a spearheaded sector in the country’s seadevelopment strategy.

According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the country had a fleet ofnearly 1,600 ships by the end of 2018, which can handle 144.5 million tonnes ofcargo in the year, accounting for 55.6 percent of the total goods circulated.

The vessels are now undertaking nearly 100 percent of domestic sea shipping offood, coal, building materials, machines, and oil and gas. However, except forseveral bulk carriers which carry goods to the Europe, Vietnam’s sea-goingships now mainly run on short-haul routes like Southeast and Northeast Asia asthere are only 42 containers ships, accounting for 3.6 percent of the totalvessels.

Under the Ministry of Transport’s project to restructure maritime transport, thecapacity of Vietnam’s fleet will be expanded to 6.8-7.5 million dead weighttonnes (DWT) by 2020. The ships will be modernised to enhance the country’sshare in the transport market.

Maritime shipping contributed to increasing the country’s import-exporttransport by 25-30 percent in the past years. By 2020, the fleet is envisionedto command 21.25 percent of the total goods, and 0.07 percent of the passengersin the country.

Heavy investments have been poured into this kind oftransport, with a wide range of infrastructure having been completed such asLach Huyen-Hai Phong port which can welcome 100,000-tonne ships, and Cai MepThi Vai port in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province which is designed to host the most moderncontainer ships. Besides, upgrade and investment have been made to most of thesea ports in the country across 2011-2018 so that they are now able to welcomelarge ships with capacities from 10,000 tonnes.

At the same time, many international passenger ports were invested in QuangNinh province and Phu Quoc island in Kien Giang province while specialisedports for industrial parks like Nghi Son, Vung Ang, Dung Quat and Vinh Tan havebeen put into operation, helping to attract investment and bolster the economyof coastal localities.

According to Doctor Trinh The Cuong from the Vietnam Maritime Administration, acomprehensive development of sea port system is necessary to meet the country’sindustrialisation and modernisation, laying foundation for the country tobetter integrate into the global economy as well as gaining competitive edge insea transport over regional and global players in the field.

He said that the move also helps affirm the key role of the sea-based economywhile making contributions to ensuring national defence and security.

In 2007, the 10th PartyCentral Committee adopted Vietnam’s Maritime Strategy towards 2020 to furtherenhance a sea-based economy and safeguarding national sovereignty over islandsand seas. The strategy set out a goal that sea-based economic sectors will makeup 53-55 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) while the percapita income in the coastal areas is expected to double the average of thewhole country by 2020.

The12th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.36/NQ-TW dated October22, 2018, outlined several breakthroughs for sustainable sea-based economic developmentuntil 2030, with vision until 2045, prioritising tourism and maritime services,maritime economy, exploitation of gas and sea resources, seafood aquaculture,and industrial development in coastal areas, among others.-VNA