From “satellite port” to transit hub
The prestigious maritime magazine Lloyd’s List ( UK ) has officially announced its ranking of the Top 100 container ports with the highest cargo throughput in the world. In this list, three familiar Vietnamese ports – Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, and the Cai Mep port complex (Ho Chi Minh City) – continue to maintain their competitive position internationally.
Vietnamese seaports continue to maintain their competitive position on the international stage. (Pictured: Cat Lai Port in Ho Chi Minh City)
PHOTO: INDEPENDENT
Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City’s seaport maintained its 22nd position globally, recording a container throughput of over 8.9 million TEU, a 14.5% increase year-on-year. Following closely behind, Hai Phong seaport impressively climbed 3 places to 26th position with a throughput exceeding 8.2 million TEU, achieving an impressive growth rate of over 16%. Meanwhile, the Cai Mep port cluster continued to rank 31st, affirming its role as an international gateway and long-distance cargo transshipment center for the entire southern key economic region. This marks the sixth consecutive year that all three port clusters have been included in Lloyd’s List ‘s Top 100 largest container ports in the world (since the 2021 edition). This consistent presence confirms Vietnam’s increasingly prominent position on the global maritime supply chain and transshipment map.
Not only did they make their mark on the year-end rankings, but the first-half data from global maritime analytics firm Alphaliner also shows synchronized growth across all three of these major shipping hubs in the Top 30 busiest port clusters in the world .
According to Alphaliner, Ho Chi Minh City moved up one place to 19th globally, affirming its role as a central hub coordinating import and export flows and connecting the domestic ICD warehouse system. Hai Phong ranked 25th, maintaining its role as the main import and export hub of the North with a total cargo throughput through its port system estimated at 96 million tons in the first six months of the year, an increase of 11.4% compared to the same period.
In the context of maritime economics, ensuring maritime security and safety is crucial, and Vietnam has built trust through its stable socio -economic and political situation, as well as its comprehensive strategic partnerships with many world powers. Building Vietnam into a strong maritime nation will create a very important growth engine for the future.
Associate Professor Tran Hoang Ngan , Chairman of the Breakthrough Development Advisory Council of Saigon University
The Cai Mep port cluster, in particular, recorded a significant highlight, ranking 29th with a throughput of approximately 3.9 million TEU in the first half of the year, a 9.2% increase compared to the same period last year. Notably, Cai Mep is also the only unit in Vietnam whose throughput data is directly updated by Alphaliner in this semi-annual ranking period, while the rankings of Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong are compiled based on the scale of their entire system operations.
Looking back at the development of Vietnam’s maritime industry over the past decade, a spectacular breakthrough in its position is evident. Before 2015, Vietnam’s port infrastructure mainly consisted of river ports or shallow-water ports such as the Cat Lai area in Ho Chi Minh City or the ports along the Cam River in Hai Phong. At that time, the domestic port system only played the role of small feeder ports. Goods exported to major markets such as the US or Europe had to be transshipped through regional transshipment ports such as Singapore or Hong Kong, leading to increased logistics costs and longer shipping times.
A turning point occurred during the period of 2015-2020 when the Cai Mep – Thi Vai deep-water port complex became fully operational, allowing it to receive mother ships sailing directly to the East and West coasts of the United States. Following this, in 2018, the inauguration of two pilot berths at Hai Phong International Port (HICT) in Lach Huyen opened a new era for the North, marking the first time it received large-tonnage container ships on transoceanic routes.
The period from 2021 to the present has witnessed a real boom. Vietnam has not only maintained all three representatives in Lloyd’s List ‘s Top 100 but has also gradually increased its presence from one or two ports to three port clusters in Alphaliner’s Top 30 worldwide. Throughput has also skyrocketed: Ho Chi Minh City is approaching 9 million TEU/year, Hai Phong has surged from 5 million TEU to over 8.2 million TEU, and Cai Mep has affirmed its position as an international transshipment hub with continuous growth. From its role as a dependent “satellite port,” Vietnam has rapidly become a direct transshipment center on the world maritime map.
Asserting our position on the international stage
Analyzing the reasons behind Vietnam’s continuous improvement in port rankings, Alphaliner and international maritime experts have identified three core drivers.
Firstly, there’s the global manufacturing relocation wave under the “China + 1” strategy. The increased FDI investment by multinational corporations in Vietnam has transformed the country into a new manufacturing hub, creating a plentiful and stable source of direct containerized import and export cargo. Secondly, there’s the effectiveness of the deep-water port infrastructure investment strategy. The expansion of the Cai Mep – Thi Vai area and the commissioning of new berths at Lach Huyen have effectively resolved the bottleneck in receiving large cargo ships. This has enabled shipping lines to open direct service routes, reducing transshipment costs and shortening transit times. Finally, there’s the change in the shipping network of major shipping alliances such as Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance. The increased number of direct calls to Vietnamese ports on Intra-Asia and long-haul routes has officially made Vietnam a strategic stopover point on the Southeast Asian maritime map.
Having a port system ranked among the top 30-100 globally affirms Vietnam’s position as a safe, secure, and irreplaceable link in the global supply chain. (In the photo: Tan Vu Port – Hai Phong)
PHOTO: NGOC THANG
Mr. Pham Quoc Long, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Maritime Agents, Brokers and Services (VISABA), assessed that the logistics industry in general and the maritime industry in particular in Vietnam are currently entering a new phase of development with enormous opportunities. Vietnam possesses a superior advantage to become a service center for the region. Objectively, amidst the complex geopolitical situation in the world, Vietnam has taken excellent advantage of the opportunity to build its position and fill the gaps in the supply chain. Subjectively, the “reorganization of the country” and the operation of a two-tiered government have enhanced the competitiveness of each locality as well as the entire nation. The development of large seaports and deep-water ports is being oriented towards the centers of all three regions (North, Central, and South), linked to the formation of free trade zones and financial centers, opening up opportunities for manufacturing, processing, export, logistics, and maritime businesses to thrive. Furthermore, each locality is focusing its efforts on developing a synchronized seaport system with connecting transportation infrastructure; gradually upgrading inland waterway infrastructure connecting to maritime centers nationwide. Simultaneously, the implementation of a two-tiered government system has helped remove many barriers, opening doors for businesses to strongly participate in global supply chains as well as increasing domestic production.
Possessing a busy port system ranked among the top 30-100 globally affirms Vietnam’s position as a safe, secure, and irreplaceable link in the global supply chain amidst geopolitical fluctuations. Continuous recognition from prestigious international organizations serves as a guarantee of Vietnam’s governance capabilities, customs digital transformation, and transportation infrastructure capacity in the eyes of international investors.
Mr. Pham Quoc Long , Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Maritime Agents, Brokers and Services
According to Mr. Pham Quoc Long, previously, consolidating small shipments to Singapore or Hong Kong cost Vietnamese businesses an additional 3-5 days and high transshipment costs. The formation of deep-water port clusters with direct long-distance routes saves hundreds of millions of USD in logistics costs annually, directly enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese export goods, especially agricultural products, textiles, and electronics. Furthermore, seaports do not operate independently. The development model of a maritime center will be linked to a Free Trade Zone (FTZ), an International Finance Corporation (IFC), and an International Container Terminal (ICD). When Vietnam becomes a maritime center, it will attract an ecosystem including: marine insurance services, refueling, ship repair and shipbuilding, trade finance services, and smart warehousing. On the other hand, multinational corporations, when choosing factory locations under the China + 1 strategy, always prioritize countries with logistics infrastructure directly connected to the US or Europe. The booming seaport sector is acting as a magnet for mega-projects in high-tech, semiconductor, and manufacturing industries.
“When Cai Mep – Thi Vai and Lach Huyen received the world’s largest super-large mother vessels, Vietnam officially entered the distribution network of the three largest global shipping alliances: Ocean Alliance, 2M, and THE Alliance. We are no longer just a ‘load point’ but have become an essential junction on the Southeast Asian maritime map,” the Chairman of VISABA observed.
Towards a strong maritime nation
Recently, on August 7th, the Government issued Resolution 218 on the Government’s Action Program to implement Resolution 20-NQ/TW dated July 28, 2026, of the Third Plenum of the 14th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on building and developing Vietnam into a strong maritime nation. Adhering closely to the guiding principles, objectives, and task groups and solutions of Resolution 20, the Government requires ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities to proactively develop plans and organize the decisive, synchronized, and effective implementation of nine tasks. These include: perfecting the institutional framework and innovating national maritime spatial planning to create breakthroughs in the development of a strong maritime nation; breakthroughs in the development of modern, green, smart, and new maritime economic sectors; synchronously developing maritime infrastructure, expanding national development space, and forming maritime economic centers; protecting the environment and conserving marine ecosystems; Proactively adapting to climate change; enhancing the resilience of coastal and island localities; building a maritime culture and improving the lives of the people…
Investment perspective for the Can Gio mega-port.
PHOTO: VIMC
Associate Professor Tran Hoang Ngan, a member of the National Assembly and Chairman of the Advisory Council for Breakthrough Development at Saigon University, assessed that Vietnam’s rise on the world maritime map increasingly affirms its position as an international cargo transshipment hub. Vietnam has the advantage of a long coastline with many deep-water port areas. Along with a bustling and high-growth economy, the country’s import and export turnover is aiming for the 1 trillion USD mark by the end of this year and will continue to increase. At the same time, Vietnam has a favorable geopolitical position in the region and the world, creating favorable conditions for trade, with many deep-water ports to develop into large container ports. In particular, the Can Gio International Transshipment Port project in Ho Chi Minh City, after completion and connection with the Cai Mep port cluster, will provide Ho Chi Minh City in particular and Vietnam in general with an international transshipment port, including container port operations and related services…
“The formation of the Cai Mep – Thi Vai – Can Gio smart port and logistics cluster will give Vietnam a ‘digital super-port’ model operating on big data. This will be a leading maritime logistics center in Southeast Asia, connected with Long Thanh Airport, the Free Trade Zone, the International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City, and the railway and expressway networks. From the goods trading chain at the FTZ, Ho Chi Minh City can establish a commodity and derivatives exchange, leading to payment and foreign exchange transactions, expanding the financial market…”, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Hoang Ngan emphasized.
According to Dr. Tran Hoang Ngan, Vietnam already has the Urban Development Law 2026, establishing breakthrough mechanisms and policies to promote the development of special urban areas, with Ho Chi Minh City being given more favorable conditions to not only develop large cities and special economic zones but also to create a new ecosystem linked to the marine economy. More importantly, to promote the formation of a port-logistics-finance ecosystem, in addition to investing in modern, environmentally friendly seaports, it is necessary to combine this with synchronized infrastructure. For example, the Bau Bang – Cai Mep railway line for transporting goods alongside super-large ships is essential. The two airports, Tan Son Nhat and Long Thanh, along with the ring roads, will create a complete trade network.
Furthermore, the highway and coastal road systems must be completed to connect “industrial hubs” with deep-water ports. Infrastructure is the “key point of key points,” determining the competitiveness of cities in the global supply chain. Therefore, this expert argues that localities must clearly understand that developing an ecosystem linked to seaports must be part of regional and inter-regional economic development and cannot be separated. This involves not only building modern, green-standard ports but also developing or linking with international shipping corporations – the “sharks” that own large fleets – to facilitate the flow of goods and ships between ports in the region. It also requires linkages with maritime finance corporations and maritime insurance services. Combining logistics and the maritime economy in general will create a competitive advantage, attract more foreign investors to Vietnam, and contribute significantly to the country’s economic growth.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/viet-nam-but-pha-บน-ban-do-hang-hai-quoc-te-185260912224204653.htm