The CSCL Star, a container ship with a capacity of nearly 160,000 tons, recently docked at CMIT International Port, part of the Cai Mep International Port complex in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. This marks the arrival of the largest container vessel to ever call at a Vietnamese port.
CSCL Star docks at CMIT Port, Ba Ria – Vung Tau.
On the morning of October 29th, CMIT Port held a ceremony to welcome the CSCL Star, owned by China Shipping. This vessel, with a capacity exceeding 14,000 TEUs, is among the largest container ships in the world and is operated by the Ocean Three alliance (comprising CMA-CGM, CSCL, and UASC) on the Asia-Europe service route.
This is the first time a Vietnamese port has received a vessel of this size, marking a significant milestone for the country’s port operations. It solidifies the position of Cai Mep – Thi Vai as the third port in Southeast Asia (after Singapore and Malaysia) capable of accommodating such massive ships.
Vietnamese exports can now be loaded directly onto the mother vessel at CMIT for transport to Europe, eliminating the need for transshipment at other regional ports like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. This reduces costs, increases competitiveness for Vietnamese exports, and allows goods to reach the market faster.
uring this port call, the CSCL Star will receive 130 containers transferred from Thailand via CMIT for direct delivery to Europe without passing through any other intermediary ports.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, Deputy Minister of Transport, stated that CMIT’s reception of this large vessel opens up development opportunities for Vietnam’s maritime sector, especially in the areas of shipping and port operations.
Mr. Cong also noted that in the first nine months of 2015, cargo traffic through Vietnamese seaports reached 343 million tons, an 11% increase compared to the previous year. At Cai Mep port, there were 936 vessel calls, including 283 vessels with a tonnage exceeding 80,000 tons.
Source: tienphong.vn