|
From new deepwater ports, VN’s goods now going straight to the US
Since the opening of deepwater ports 80 km southeast of HCM City, a lot of shipping firms have launched container freight services direct to the US.
The new sea route
Hanjin (ROK), MOL and “K” Line (Japan) and APL (Singapore) are now shipping goods direct to the US from Vietnam’s SP-PSA and Tan Cang-Cai Mep deepwater ports near the city of Vung Tau.
SP-PSA receives K-Line and APL mother ships every Wednesday and Thursday. The ships carry commodities directly to the east and west coasts of the US instead of consolidating cargos in Singapore or Hong Kong as they did previously.
According to Nguyen Duc Anh, the senior executive of “K” Line in Vietnam and APL director Nguyen Phan Anh, their firms’ vessels can carry 4,000 standard (20-foot) containers and that direct shipping cuts two days off transit time. The companies are able to quote lower shipping costs and handle 48-and 53-feet containers.
A lot of things need to be done to ‘go directly’
Anh of APL said that the freight cost from Vietnam to the US, using the new deepwater ports 80 kilometers southeast of HCMC, has become competitive in comparison with other regional countries. Vietnamese exporters now have shipping choices, helping them minimize the risk of being late in deliveries.
However, the problem is that many exporters hesitate to use the new sea route, simply because they have not got used to it. A garment export company in Ba Ria-Vung Tau admitted that it is still bringing products to Cat Lai port in HCM City, though the traffic is terrible on the road to the port. Meanwhile, other enterprises said that they only have small export contracts, therefore, they have to ship on small vessels.
Tran Quoc Manh, Director of Sadaco, a big furniture maker, said that though he knows about the big ships which carry goods directly to the US from the two new ports in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, he still has not used the services of direct shipping.
Manh said that most Vietnamese exporters ship FOB (free on board, with goods delivered at the ports of the sellers). Therefore, the export contract clearly stipulates that the importers have the right to choose the shipping firms. That is why Vietnamese exporters cannot use the services of direct shipping, though they well know the benefits the services can bring.
Manh believes that exporters can only realize the advantages of new services if they can export under CIF mode (cost, insurance, freight with deliveries at the ports of the buyers).
vietnamnet, tt
|
