Authorities Promise to Lower Port Fees

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Sept. 23 – Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has promised to lower port fees in response to letters received from the European Chamber of Commerce in Ho Chi Minh City in April and August.

The EuroCham letters pointed out that fees for the Cai Mep–Thi Vai port are as much as two to four times more expensive compared to other ports in the region, particularly Singapore and Malaysia.

Local authorities are considering port fee adjustment policies that would be applicable to all ports in the country according to the letter sent by the Ministry of Finance. Moreover, the ministry is putting together a proposal that will cut port and maritime fees for vessels with more than 50,000 tons capacity docking at the Cai Mep–Thi Vai port.

A letter sent by EuroCham to authorities dated April 5 detailed costs for a 93,496 GRT vessel in different ports in South East Asia below:

USD Cai Mep (Vietnam) Tanjung Pelapas (Malaysia) PSA (Singapore) Port Klang (Malaysia) Laem Chabang (Thailand)
Pilotage 8,228 0 4,429 4,046

 4,218
Dockage (12 hours) 3,478 5,626 3,996 2,063

 2,475
Port dues 24,683

 2,926

 122

 2,926

 11,880
Total 36,389 8,552 8,547 9,035 18,573

The huge price difference for port calls in Cai Mep–Thi Vai affects the country’s trade competitiveness compared to other similar ports in the region.

The Cai Mep–Thi Vai port opened in 2009 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province becoming the largest deep-water port in the south Vietnam. Currently, only a limited number of vessels go to the port regularly because of the higher charges. The ministry says the price difference between the Cai Mep–Thi Vai port and other ports in the region is due to various levels of port development, location and management.