Danang welcomes first container ship connecting central Vietnam to US Oakland

Tien Sa seaport in Danang city welcomed WanHai 362 shipping route on Tuesday, the first container shipping route connecting central Vietnam to Long Beach, Oakland, the U.S., without transit via any mothership.

Run by Taiwanese shipping company Wan Hai Lines, the ship, with a capacity of 3,013 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), received 482 containers at Tien Sa port and will export 115 TEUs. The goods include 50 TEUs delivered from Danang city for export to the U.S., featuring fashion products, wooden goods, kid toys, aircraft components, and others.

The new route will reduce the travelling time from Danang to Long Beach from 25-28 days to 21 days, reducing risks of damaged goods or missing connecting trips with motherships at other ports. Overall, the route connects India, Malaysia, mainland China, Vietnam, Taiwan, and the U.S.

The route is expected to not only boost good delivery between Vietnam and the U.S. but also between Laos and Cambodia to the U.S.

Vietnam’s import-export turnover fell 13.1% year-on-year to $435.23 billion in the first eight months of this year, according to the General Statistics Office. Of which, the U.S. was the second-biggest trade partner with turnovers of $71.6 billion, behind China with $103.9 billion. China remained the biggest import market for Vietnam at $68.1 billion, while the U.S. was the biggest export market at $62.3 billion.

Danang, an economic hub in central Vietnam, recorded a revenue of VND4.22 trillion ($175.5 million) from good transportation in the first eight months of this year, down 0.8% year-on-year. The transported cargo reached 29.46 million tons in the eight-month period, up 6.54%, according to municipal data. The figure included 138,000 tons via maritime routes, down 48.36%, and 29.32 million tons via roads, up 7.07%.