Posted on November 5, 2015
On 29 October 2015 Cai Mep International Terminal (CMIT) received the maiden call of the 14,000 TEU container ship CSCL Star, an ultra large container vessel (ULCV) of 157,000 dwt. The vessel, deployed in the Ocean 3 Alliance, was making debut on a Vietnam/Northern Europe direct service.
In the same week, two feeder services have also started to call at CMIT to connect local Vietnamese export cargo and international export cargo from Thailand and Cambodia, all transshipped through CMIT.
“This operation fits well into the vision of CMIT to be the first container hub port for domestic and international transshipment. The transshipment operation is also supported by the Vietnamese Government, as Vietnam positions itself within the Cai Mep deep-water container port group to best serve the Europe-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement which was agreed to in September,” said Robert Hambleton, General Director, CMIT.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Transport, Vinamarine and the VMS have all played a crucial role in making this ULCV port call happen by funding the Cai Mep channel maintenance dredging. This recent work has brought the channel depth to 13.2m at low water, in time to receive the CSCL Star.
“Collectively, the Ministry of Transport, Vinamarine and CMIT have created a new and distinctive advantage for the Cai Mep deep water port group, which is now capable of handling a 14,000 TEU ULCV, a capability previously reserved for the ASEAN hubs in Singapore and Malaysia,” Nguyen Xuan Ky, CMIT Deputy General Director, commented.
