Big spending to attract ships to open routes, how does container cargo through Thanh Hoa seaport grow?

Attracting both domestic and international container shipping routes

Every week, Nghi Son International Port (Thanh Hoa) still welcomes about 1-2 container ships entering and leaving the port to load and unload goods. Among them, there is a domestic ship running the Hai Phong - Ho Chi Minh route of Hai An Shipping Company and an international ship running the CMA - CGM shipping company.

In Thanh Hoa area, there is now a shipping line opening domestic and international container shipping routes.

According to statistics from Thanh Hoa Maritime Port Authority , over the past 3 years, the volume of container cargo through regional seaports has grown significantly.

If in 2022, the container cargo throughput through Thanh Hoa seaport only reached 1,606 tons (equivalent to 114 TEU), then in 2023 it reached 221,657 tons (equivalent to 14,658 TEU), in 2024 it reached 267,690 tons (equivalent to 21,061 TEU). In the first 5 months of 2025, Thanh Hoa seaport received 98,795 tons of container cargo, equivalent to 7,791 TEU.

These results are due to the significant contribution from the Resolution on promulgating policies to support businesses transporting goods by container through Nghi Son Port, Thanh Hoa province of the People's Council of Thanh Hoa province from 2020.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son, Deputy Director of Thanh Hoa Maritime Port Authority, informed that container goods passing through Thanh Hoa area are currently mainly items such as white stone, cardboard... from shippers in the province and some in the North Nghe An area . Most of them are export goods. The main items are exported to China, the output is not much but stable.

However, what worries Mr. Son is that there are not many empty containers in the area. Therefore, shipping lines have to transport empty containers to load goods, causing costs for both shippers and shipping lines to increase somewhat.

Not to mention, the infrastructure in the area also has many weaknesses. "Seaports in the area are mainly general ports, there are no specialized container ports. The ports also only use general cargo cranes to handle containerized cargo, so the productivity of cargo handling is not high, loading and unloading capacity is limited," said Mr. Son, adding that the investment in technological equipment and application of science and technology by seaports is also not much.

At the same time, the area has not yet developed warehouse rental services for cargo owners to consolidate container goods. Currently, cargo owners can only take advantage of consolidating goods at the ports. Infrastructure and services are still poor, so refrigerated containers also face many difficulties.

Prioritize the development of container ports in Nam Nghi Son

Previously, in Resolution No. 248/2022 of the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Council on policies to support international and domestic maritime transport vehicles to support businesses transporting goods by container through Nghi Son Port, the support level for international container ships is 500 million VND/trip. At the same time, support is 2 million VND/20-foot container and 3 million VND/40-foot container through Nghi Son Port and opening a declaration at Thanh Hoa Customs.

Although shipping lines have opened routes, the current shipping routes are not yet fixed routes. The leaders of Thanh Hoa Maritime Port Authority hope that when the seaport and post-port infrastructure develop synchronously, along with the development of the regional economy, it will help stabilize the flow of goods, the source of goods can be concentrated in the region and shipping lines can open more regular routes. Thereby, promoting the role of the import-export gateway of the North Central region.

In the Detailed Planning of seaports, ports, wharves, buoys, water areas, and water regions for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, by 2030, Thanh Hoa seaport will meet the volume of goods passing through from 71.7 million tons - 86.2 million tons, of which container goods from 0.07-0.19 million TEU.

Currently, the Vietnam Maritime Administration has submitted to the Ministry of Construction a detailed plan for the development of Thanh Hoa seaport land and waters for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050.

The draft planning identifies that Thanh Hoa seaport will prioritize investment in general and container ports in the South Nghi Son wharf area in the coming time. Thanh Hoa will focus on completing investment in the South and North Nghi Son wharf areas in a modern direction, aiming to build a special seaport, becoming a gateway port of the North Central region with an international brand.

Hoang Anh