VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Transport will restrict the granting of new licenses for foreign-flagged vessels to operate on domestic transport routes from April 1.

The ministry originally wanted to ban foreign ships from operating on local routes from January 1. However, to avoid affecting goods transport and prices during the Lunar New Year holiday, the ministry has decided to delay the ban until April 1.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong told the Daily that the ministry had met with local trade associations and found that if licensing was immediately stopped, goods transport would be affected and goods prices would shoot up during Tet.

Therefore, the ministry is now still issuing licenses for foreign-flagged ships to operate on domestic routes. “We will restrict licensing from April 1. Six months later, if stable goods transport did not greatly affect production and export-import, we would further tighten the licensing procedures,” said Cong.

Previously, the transport ministry released a document, saying that it would stop granting licenses for foreign-flagged vessels to transport goods on local routes. However, some associations suggested that foreign ships should not be replaced by domestic vessels at this time.

Furniture companies pinpointed many shortcomings in the Vietnamese-flagged ship fleet.

For example, they do not commit to keeping shipping charges unchanged nor ensure shipping schedules. In addition, large vessels cannot get into many seaports in the northern and central regions.

Statistics of the Vietnam Maritime Administration show that foreign shippers are holding a 40% share in the domestic market, and the remainder belongs to local shippers.

Source: SGT