However, transport businesses still face many difficulties due to complicated procedures required to obtain legal papers and professional certificates for crew members on cargo ships.
Minh’s company has operated in cargo shipping for 2 years. Last year, according to the regulation, a vessel needs at least 7 crew members. This year, the number increased to 9 crew. For a short route, the ship still has to have that number of crew, which has meant increased labour costs.
"We need to pay more 10,000 USD per year for the 2 extra crew members." - Duong Van Minh, Hai Hau District, Nam Dinh Province.
It takes around 3 to 6 month to train a crew member. As the number of ships increase, a lot of transport businesses face serious labour shortages.
"I need more time to meet the requirements. More crew will mean increased wage costs. It means that we’ll to face more difficulties. " - Khuong Quoc Tuan, Director, Tuan Thanh Trading & Service Co. Ltd.
Water transport activities require both inland waterway and maritime procedures. According to a representative from the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, there is no connection between the two agencies, therefore vessels need to report to two agencies when docking at ports.
"We’ll co-operate with the Vietnam Maritime Administration in order to simplify the procedures for waterway transport businesses." - Hoang Minh Toan, Deputy Head, Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration
The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration will publish the report on the current operations of coastal shipping routes to further remove complicated procedures this week.
