A total of 49 container vessels are scheduled to arrive at Yangon Port in October, according to the Myanma Port Authority.
In October, seven container vessels run by Samudera Shipping Line, six by Sealand Maersk Asia, five by COSCO Shipping Line, four each by One Line and SITC Line, three each by CMA CMG Line, MSC Line, PIL Line and RCL Line, two each by Evergreen Line, BAY Line, BLPL Line, Land and Sea Line and Sealand Maersk Asia and one by Inter Asia Line are slated to call at the Yangon Port.
This year, 52 container vessels each in January and February, 55 in March, 50 in April, 56 in May, 57 in June, 53 in July, 54 in August and 53 in September arrived at Yangon Port.
Yangon Port handled a total of 620 container vessels last year. Thanks to the draft extension, the international ocean liners can access the inner port for now, according to the Myanma Port Authority’s statement on 22 June.
After the new navigation channel (Kings Bank Channel) accessing the inner Yangon River was found, the draft extension work was accelerated. After that, the port can now handle larger ships. The container vessel (185.99 metres LOA, 35.25 metres Beam, 29,232 GRT and 2,698 TEU) Hong-Kong-based SITC Shipping Line docked at Asia World Port Terminal for the first time on 22 June. That vessel is the largest ship ever that AWPT Port handled.
From May 2021, the arrival of the ships at terminals in Yangon has increased again. To fulfil the seaborne trade requirements, three new container vessels by Maersk Line Myanmar (SeaLand Maersk) started to run in 2021.
Earlier, the larger ships had draft problems preventing their sailing on the Yangon River. The draft was extended up to 10 metres, so the larger ocean liners could enter the Thilawa Port.
The coast of Myanmar is 2,228 kilometres (1,260 nautical miles) including the Rakhine coastline (713 kilometres), delta region (437 kilometres) and Taninthayi coastline (1,078 kilometres), stretching from northern Bangladesh’s border to southern Thailand’s border area.
There are 10 seaports along the coastline, including Yangon Port, Thilawa Deep Sea Port, Kyaukphyu Deep Sea Port, Sittway Port, Thandwe Port, Pathein Port, Mawlamyine Port, Dawei Deep Sea Port, Myeik Port and Kawthoung Port.
Seaborne trade accounts for 75 per cent of foreign trade. However, Yangon Port including Thilawa terminals is the only international port and the remaining ports in eight cities are designated for the domestic way only. — NN/EM
