Shipping companies area urged to cut costs and improve efficiency to overcome the difficult time caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. - Photo ndh.vn

HÀ NỘI – Cutting costs is critical for the maritime transport sector, which is seeing a slowing down in activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to a report by the Việt Nam Maritime Administration, the transport of passengers and goods via seaports during the pandemic’s peak period saw a fall of 100 per cent against the same period last year.

Only two international cruise ships arrived in March. Operators also announced the cancellation of all expected cruise ships carrying international passengers to ports in Nha Trang and Vũng Tàu in the second quarter of this year.

Cargo transportation also saw a considerable decline in the first quarter of this year, with the volume equivalent to just 91 per cent of the same period in 2019. However, April saw an increase of four per cent in the transported cargo volume.

Nguyễn Xuân Sang, Director of the Việt Nam Maritime Administration, predicted that maritime transport would continue to face difficulties until the end of this year due to drops in demand for goods in foreign countries and stagnation of production globally which caused falls in both imports and exports.

Maritime transport was seeing a slowdown, but it was time for logistics companies to increase cost savings to improve efficiency, sang said.

The Việt Nam Maritime Administration proposed to the Ministry of Transport to reduce some maritime fees for ships, including docking and mooring fees, and give a three-month extension of certificates for sailors.

From May 1, the towage and pilot services fees were cut by 10 per cent for Việt Nam’s ships operating domestically to the lowest regulated level to help firms overcome the difficult period.

Leading shipping company posts loss

Việt Nam Ocean Shipping Joint Stock Company (Vosco), a leading shipping company in Việt Nam, posted a loss of VNĐ86.4 billion (US$3.7 million) in the first quarter of this year, VNĐ40.7 billion higher than the same period of 2019.

Its revenue also dropped by VNĐ76.5 billion to VNĐ347.5 billion in the quarter.

Vosco’s Chairman Bùi Việt Hoài said that shipping companies encountered a lot of difficulties in the first three months of this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hoài forecast that difficulties would continue in the second quarter as exports to the US and the EU remained stagnant. - VNS