Nearly 5,000 containers with several types of goods, including many illegal imports, are stuck in Haiphong Port.

Haiphong port overloaded by thousands of abandoned containers

Haiphong Customs Department said, of the total, the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) and the Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) abandoned nearly 200 over the past five years.

An anonymous official from the department said all the owners of the containers have yet to make any statement for refusing to retrieve the goods, and the time limit to do so has expired.

“Too many goods stuck at the port have been posing increasing difficulties for one of the most important ports in the northern region,” an anonymous leader of the department commented.

Goods stuck at the port range from frozen food that is banned to industrial waste and second-hand products.

Upon the request by the prime minister, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) ceased licensing the import and export of several goods, including used rubber and automobile tires, waste plastic, waste paper and waste iron beginning from January 1, 2013.

Illegally imported ivory seized

Local authorities find it hard find the owners of the containers, much less fine them.

The General Department of Vietnam Customs’ Department of Anti-Smuggling Investigation is classifying goods at the port to find the best solution.

For used consumer goods that arrived at the port before April 4, when the Ministry of Public Security issued a circular on banning temporary imports for exports, they would seek approval from the MoIT to grant export licenses.

In 2013, the Haiphong Customs Department forced owners of dozens of containers to export their goods at the port and destroyed several containers of chicken, beef, and animal organs.

In several cases, authorities detected tonnes of ivory illegally imported into Vietnam under the name of “processed sea snail shells”.