Wan Hai 805 container ship anchored at Hải Phòng International Container Terminal. — VNA/VNS Photo An Đăng

HẢI PHÒNG — The Hải Phòng International Container Terminal (HICT) of the Tân Cảng Sài Gòn Corporation welcomed its first container ship on Tuesday.

With a capacity of nearly 12,000 TEUs, Wan Hai 805 became the first and largest container ship anchored at the northern port to date.

The ship, belonging to a joint venture of Wan Hai Lines from Taiwan (China), COSCO Shipping from China and Pacific International Lines from Singapore, provides direct services from the northern region of Việt Nam to the west coast of the US.

Its service helps the cut freight time from 25 to 19 days, thus helping businesses reduce logistics costs and improving competitiveness.

Deputy Transport Minister Nguyễn Văn Công said the birth of the HICT marked an important milestone in the development of the deep-water port system in northern Việt Nam and Hải Phòng City.

The welcoming of the ship makes the HICT one of the 20 largest ports in the world, he said.

The reception of the biggest-ever vessel has marked the development of container transport services by sea routes directly connecting Hải Phòng to ports in America and Europe without stopping at other foreign ports. HICT is operating six service lines each week, two of which are transpacific route, two of which go to India and the other two to Asian nations.

Located in Cát Hải District, HICT is the first deep-water port of the northern key economic region opened on May 13, 2018.

The port has a total area of 44.9ha with two 750-metre container ports. It can receive container ships with a capacity of up to 14,000 TEU as well as general ships with a tonnage of up to 160,000 DWT (equivalent to 160,000 tonnes) bringing the northern region's import and export goods straight to Europe and America.

HICT has the ability to receive and clear goods with a total volume of about 1.1 million TEU per year.

HITC is a joint venture of Tân Cảng Sài Gòn Corporation, Japanese MITSUI O.S.K Lines Company, Taiwan Wan Hai Lines Company and Japanese Itochu Group. Goods capacity through the port now accounts for 16 per cent of the country’s total volume.

The rate was expected to continue increasing as big vessels begin to anchor at the port. — VNS