Hai An Transport launches Vietnam – China service
Vietnamese carrier Hai An Transport and Stevedoring JSC will in April introduce a dedicated weekly service connecting Vietnam and China.
The upcoming service will operate two 1,781 teu sister ships, the HAIAN ALFA and HAIAN BETA. The former is scheduled to kick off the first sailing of this new service when the ship departs from Ho Chi Minh on 16 April.
The port rotation of this Vietnam – China loop covers Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Nansha, Hong Kong, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City.
Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) will co-load on this service, marketing it as ‘Vietnam China Express service’ (‘VCX’).
This new Vietnam – China service will provide the Vietnamese operator with its third international loop, adding to its Vietnam – Pearl River Delta ‘SCX’ service and Vietnam-Singapore ‘VSX’ service. Besides these two regional loops, Hai An operates domestic shuttles within Vietnam.
Hai An, ONE: ‘VCX’Vietnam – China |
| Vessels Deployed |
| 2 x 1,700 teu |
| Port Rotation |
| Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Nansha, Hong Kong, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City |
TS Lines further adjusts Japan – Taiwan – northern Vietnam coverage
TS Lines next month is set to further adjust its Japan – Taiwan – northern Vietnam coverage following the carrier’s revamp of the Japan-Taiwan-South China-Vietnam ‘JTK3’ service, which includes the addition of Nansha, Chiwan, and Haiphong and the removal of Busan and Xiamen. At the same time, in mid-March, TS Lines and Yang Ming, the two current partners on ‘JTK3 / JKX’ will welcome a third partner, Interasia Lines, marketing the loop as ‘JHS’.
The upcoming reshuffling will also involve TS Lines’ existing JapanTaiwan-South China-Vietnam ‘JTK’ and Japan-Taiwan-South China ‘JTK2’ services.
The updated ‘JTK’ loop will focus on the Kanto and Chubu regions in Japan with the removal of Osaka, and Kobe calls, which will then be covered by the adjusted ‘JTK3’. The carrier will also transfer Taichung, Haiphong, and the southbound calls at Chiwan and Nansha from ‘JTK’ to ‘JTK2’.
With the removal of the aforementioned port calls from ‘JTK’, the turnaround time will be shortened from three to two weeks while the expansion of ‘JTK2’ to northern Vietnam will see its turnaround time increase to three weeks.
As of 12 March, the updated ‘JTK’ will cover Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Keelung, Kaohsiung, Nansha, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Tokyo with two ships of about 1,200 teu.
Meanwhile, the extended ‘JTK2’ will connect Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Nansha, Chiwan, Haiphong, Nansha, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Tokyo. TS Lines currently deploys two 1,200 teu vessels on this loop and is set to add a third ship.The ‘JTK2’ expanded itinerary is scheduled to be effective from 14 March ex Nansha.
TS Lines: ‘JTK2’Japan – Taiwan – China – Vietnam |
| Vessels Deployed |
| 3 x 1,200 teu |
| Port Rotation |
| Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Nansha, Chiwan, Haiphong, Nansha, Hong Kong, Chiwan, Tokyo |
First container vessel calls at Vietnam’s Phuoc An Port
Petro Vietnam recently welcomed the first container ship at its new terminal at Phuoc An, a new Ho Chi Minh City satellite port in Vietnam’s Dong Nai Province.
Container operations at Phuoc An officially started with an inaugural call of the MSC BEIRA IV. The 4,256 teu ship, operated by the world’s largest carrier, is currently not part of any scheduled service and runs as an ‘extra sailer’. The MSC BEIRA IV arrived at the port on 13 February from Singapore carrying some 1,300 teu of cargo.
Phuoc An Port is the first container terminal in Dong Na, and this southern Vietnamese province plans to develop the area into a major logistics hub.
Phuoc An Port is located just a few kilometers from the well-known Cai Mep port in the Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. It is actually just the Thi Vai River that separates the two provinces, but so far all container terminals were located on the eastern side of the river at Cai Mep.
Just like Cai Mep, Phuoc An will serve as a satellite container port for Ho Chi Minh City. It is located some 50 km from Ho Chi Minh City, inbetween the city and the site of the new Long Thanh International Airport, scheduled to open this year.
The new container terminal at Phuoc An Port currently consists of two berths with a pier length of 670 m and a depth alongside of up to 15.00 m. It has four mid-sized ship-to-shore cranes supplied by Mitsui E&S.
Two expansion modules are already on the drawing board, but construction has not begun yet. According to Mitsui, Petro Vietnam placed additional orders for five ship-to-shore cranes in July 2024.
Vietnam’s Thi Vai River estuary, where all of the deep-water container terminals in the region are located, actually runs through three administrative regions: Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Na and Ho Chi Minh City.
In addition to the many container terminals in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, and the new one in Dong Na, MSC in 2022 embarked on a project to develop a giant deep-water terminal at Gan Gio, which is located in Ho Chi Minh City land, but as far from the city as the other satellite ports.
ESL makes first commercial call at HHIT Haiphong
Following a number of trial calls that started in early January, operations at the new Hateco Haiphong International Container Terminal (HHIT) officially launched this month with an inaugural call by the ESL DUBAI.
The 2,702 teu ship, operated by Emirates Shipping Line, serves on the multi-carrier ‘FHX’ loop, that deploys seven ships of seven carriers on a 49-day round trip that covers Qingdao, Shanghai, Ningbo, Nansha, Port Kelang, Mombasa, Port Kelang and Qingdao.
This service does not cover Vietnam on a regular basis, but the ESL DUBAI performed off-scheduled calls at Haiphong and Cai Mep on its current eastbound trip to the Far East.
HHIT operates at Haiphong Lach Huyen’s berths 5 and 6, and it is now the second deep-water terminal in the area after the Haiphong International Container Terminal (HICT) at berths 1 and 2.
A third facility is scheduled to launch later in this year. The new joint venture of Port of Haiphong (CHP) and MSC/TiL will run berths 3 and 4 and thus occupy the quay in-between HHIT and HICT.
Hateco’s new HHIC covers a total area of 73 ha with 900 m of pier, plus a 200 m barge dock on the side. The facility has six ultra-large cranes and it can handle ships of ‘megamax’ size.
Once all six berths are in service, Haiphong’s outer Lach Huyen port will offer ca. 2,400 m of deep-water container pier with 18 ship-toshore cranes across three terminals.
