Vietnamese seaports now face the problem of being overload or not having sufficient capacity, revealing failures in planning.

Do Hong Thai, Deputy Head of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, said Haiphong Port witnessed backups, while newly-built ports in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai area have failed to reach their set capacity. Ports in the central region, except for Quy Nhon, have been operating at below capacity. This has been attributed to the wharf shortage for large ships, particularly container ships. Development of regional economic zones and industrial parks also remains modest.

Ngo Minh Tuan, Director of Sai Gon New Port Company, said most seaports in the Cai Mep-Thi Vai area suffered from losses in 2011 and the first months of 2012. The losses ranged from USD7 million to USD30 million.

“Vietnam is at risk of losing its ports to joint ventures with foreign partners. This could lead to the foreign domination of Vietnamese seaports,” Tuan warned.

Vietnam has been steadily building seaports over the past years, but less than 10 can receive foreign medium-sized ships. The northern central region has many deep-water ports, but they only serve ships of around 30,000 tonnes.

Shipping route planning has also been found wanting for the scale of development in the industry, while logistics infrastructure fails to meet the real demand.

Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Van Cong suggested that the Government focus only on key seaport project instead of making massive investment. Private investment should be relied on for other projects.

Vietnam has 30 operational seaports, excluding offshore floating ports for crude oil-related. In 2011 the ports handled a total of 291 million tonnes of cargo.