Maersk opens fixed container shipping route to Ha Long

Danish shipping giant Maersk opened a fixed route connecting Vietnam and China via Cai Lan international container terminal (CICT Cai Lan) in Ha Long town of Quang Ninh province on Wednesday.

The route begins in Hong Kong, passing through CICT Cai Lan, Tan Vu port in Vietnam’s Haiphong city, Yantian of China’s Guangdong province, Ningbo of China’s Zhejiang province, and Shanghai, and then returns to Hong Kong.

The firm will run the course once a week, carrying dried items, machines, and materials.

Earlier in August, SITC, another global shipping giant, launched a shipping route connecting CICT Cai Lan on a trial basis. The route connects Cat Lai in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City; Jakarta in Indonesia; Bintulu in Malaysia; Xiamen in China; Incheon in South Korea; Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai in China; and CICT Cai Lan.

Quang Ninh is a major transport hub of Vietnam, accounting for 40% of the transported goods in the northern region, according to the Ministry of Transport. In 2019-2021, the total goods transported via seaports in Quang Ninh reached 104 million tons a year, bringing a service revenue of VND7,500 billion ($314.1 million) to the province, up 16.6% year-on-year.

A representative of Maersk lauded the CICT Cai Lan deep-water port for its modern facilities and connections to the highway system and industrial parks.

China was the biggest trade partner of Vietnam in the first nine months of this year with a total revenue of $131.7 billion, General Statistics Office data shows. Vietnam exported goods worth $40.1 billion to the northern neighbor, up 3.2% year-on-year, while spent $91.6 billion on importing from the market, up 12.7% year-on-year.