After coming into operation last March, Cam Ranh International Seaport has received tens of large civilian and military vessels from many countries including India, Japan, France, Singapore, Russia, the U.S., China and Australia who have come in visits.
That is the fruit of a historic decisive policy by the Government to develop the former military port into an international seaport doing the mission of national defense in combination with economic development.
Cam Ranh Port is located in Cam Ranh Military Base, Ba Ngoi Ward, Cam Ranh city, the southern province of Khanh Hoa.
The military base has a strategic position from that we can see the whole East Sea. It is also the nearest access location of international maritime routes, the Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands as well as oil and gas fields on the southeast continental shelf of Vietnam.
The base has seen little influence of storms for positioning in airtight Binh Ba Bay with the defense of hundreds of large and small islands. The advantageous geographical location suits building of quays to receive, maintain and repair big military and civilian vessels.
Despite the geographical advantages, Cam Ranh Port had previously served military purposes. Therefore, the policy issued recently asked the port to exploit its advantages, develop and integrate into the world.
Tan Cang-Petro Cam Ranh Company was established with the investment capital of VND2 trillion (US$88.3 million) to implement the policy. Of these, Sai Gon Newport Corporation contributed to 75 percent shares.
The Ministry of National Defense approved the first phase of the project to build marine services and seagoing vessels supply complex at the base.
On March 8, 2016, the first phase was completed, opening Cam Ranh International Seaport for service, receiving foreign warships to dock at for maintenance, refueling and logistics services.
The main function of the port is handling military vessels and international passenger ships, supplying marine services, intensifying relations with international naval forces, contributing in raising the country’s position in the world, ensuring conditions for warships’ operations to fight and protect the East Sea peaceful and stable.
The port fully gathers advantages in national defense and economic development.
So far, Cam Ranh has become the largest seaport of Vietnam in term of wharf length, been able to accommodate vessels of up to 110,000 DWT and handle 18 vessels at the same time and 185 ships a year.
The is the first port in Vietnam designed for vessels to anchor in force 8 gales moving 60-75 kilometers an hour.
At the port’s opening ceremony in March, then President Truong Tan Sang required good implementation of each investment phase in order to develop Cam Ranh into a modern prestigious logistics port.
He expected that the port would not only reach out to the world level but also could compare with the most modern ports in the world and not become behind the times even a century later.
Colonel Uong Xuan Phuc Son, director of Tan Cang- Petro Cam Ranh Company, said that the port had supplied almost items that a civilian vessel or a warship needs.
Opening the port for both domestic and foreign civilian and military vessels was a socioeconomic development policy of Vietnam, showing the country’s open-minded point of view to international friends, he said.
Vessels from different nations in the world have arrived at Cam Ranh Port on the spirit of equality and respecting Vietnam’s sovereignty and law.
Despite many difficulties, for instance, the procedure of ship arrival has not been fluent, the company will do its best to develop the seaport in all fields, ensuring both national defense and socioeconomic development as per expectations of the whole party and people, he stressed.
