SIMIC

According to a statement, the Panama-flagged Seroja Lima berthed at CMIT recently to load and discharge almost 3,000 TEU.

CMIT is a joint venture between Saigon Port (15 per cent), Vietnam National Shipping Lines (36 per cent) and APM Terminals (49 per cent).

APMT said CMITs high productivity and "safe operations" were critical for its place on the schedule of the 2M Alliance, which comprises AP Moeller-Maersk and MSC, the two biggest carriers in the world.

It means it will now be regularly visited by a fleet of vessels with a capacity of 12,000 TEU, another sign that Vietnam and Southeast Asia is growing as a hub for maritime trade.

The United States is Vietnam's third largest trade partner and foreign trade between two countries has been growing rapidly.

The TP17 service, which connects Vietnam with the US East Coast, will increase the frequency of weekly mainline calls at CMIT, and increase the number of options for Vietnamese importers and exporters to optimise the cargo connection with key US markets, reports Port Technology, London.

"Through our relentless effort to provide world-class service quality and the highest level in safety, we are proud to strengthen Cai Mep's position on the world maritime map and contribute to improve the competitiveness for Vietnamese cargo", said Jan Bandstra, CMIT general director.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, CMIT has maintained 24/7 operations, to facilitate a back-to-back schedule including five weekly mainline calls with vessels size of 9,000 TEU-18,000 TEU and around 150 barges and domestic vessels.

This has been enabled through significant efforts to apply various measures to prevent the entry and spread of virus, the statement added.