Clearing the Hau River for large ships to enter.

Currently, ships entering and leaving seaports in the Mekong Delta region via the Hau River channel mainly have a tonnage of around 10,000 DWT, which is being reduced in load.

According to the Southern Maritime Safety Corporation, the navigation channel for large cargo ships entering the Hau River has completed surveying of several sections following dredging.

Specifically, within the scope of the survey of the seabed for the design of maintenance dredging of the sea channel section from maritime navigation buoy No. 7 – 1030 m (breakwater area + 400 m) to maritime navigation buoy No. "7" + 90 m, with a length of approximately 1.12 km, a channel bottom width of 70 m, and a determined depth of 6.42 m.

Currently, Can Tho Port is able to receive cargo ships with a deadweight tonnage of up to 20,000 DWT for unloading and entry into the port.

For the sections of the Tắt Canal, the Quan Chánh Bố Canal, and the Hậu River channel, which are part of the maritime channel for large cargo ships entering the Hậu River, the current depth after dredging is 6.4m.

Vessels navigating the Hau River's shipping lane for large cargo ships are advised to refer to the maritime notice regarding the depth of the channel section after maintenance dredging to ensure safe navigation and comply with the instructions of the Can Tho Maritime Port Authority.

Informing the Traffic Newspaper, the Can Tho Maritime Port Authority stated that a section of the Hau River channel dredging project for large ships remains unfinished. Therefore, the current channel section has not yet been officially announced for operation at a new depth.

The project to dredge the Hau River channel for large cargo ships is part of the Ministry of Transport 's 2024 maritime infrastructure maintenance plan, aiming to dredge the channel to a standard depth of -6.5m.

Recently, the second phase of the project to build a channel for large-tonnage vessels into the Hau River has also been completed. The project aims to construct a sea channel with sufficient depth for vessels of 10,000 and 20,000 tons, reducing congestion at ports on the Hau River.

According to a leader of Can Tho Port Joint Stock Company, currently, ships entering and leaving the Mekong Delta region are mainly fully loaded vessels of over 6,000 - 6,500 DWT and partially loaded vessels of 10,000 DWT.

However, some ships carrying wood chips with a deadweight tonnage of approximately 15,000-20,000 DWT have reduced their load in and out of Can Tho port. Nevertheless, the ships have had to significantly reduce their load. Containerized cargo still primarily relies on barges for transshipment.

"Currently, there hasn't been a significant surge in cargo volume. Perhaps after the main channel is officially announced for operation at the new depth, shipping companies will be able to adjust their schedules to bring ships in accordingly," said a leader of Can Tho Port, adding that to ensure the sustainability of large ships entering and leaving the port, in addition to stabilizing the depth of the navigation channel, stable cargo points are also needed.

However, a current weakness in the Mekong Delta region (Group 5 seaports) is the low volume of cargo, resulting in limited access for large vessels to the ports.

According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the ports in the Can Tho, Hau Giang, and Tra Vinh areas currently have the capacity to receive vessels with a deadweight tonnage of up to 10,000 DWT (reduced load).

Over the past five years, the number of vessels entering and leaving the ports of the Group 5 has decreased, but the volume of goods transported has increased.

Specifically, the number of vessels entering and leaving the area decreased from 23,345 (in 2019) to 22,220 (in 2023). The total volume of goods handled through the seaports increased from over 16 million tons in 2019 to over 18 million tons in 2023.

Along with this, the number of vessels exceeding their designed tonnage entering and leaving seaports in the Group 5 region also increased significantly, from 118 vessels (in 2019) to 152 vessels (in 2023).

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/thong-luong-cho-tau-lon-vao-song-hau-19224111414545794.htm