Current Outstanding International Sea Routes In Vietnam

1. What is an international sea route?

An international sea route, also known as an international maritime route, is a sea transport route connecting countries and regions around the globe. You can simply understand the maritime route as a system of maritime networks spanning continents, oceans, and seas linked together through seaports around the world.

These sea routes are often formed by nature, including seas, oceans, confluence waters, or straits. Besides, with the growing need to transport goods, international maritime routes can also be created by human intervention. By digging transoceanic canals, building seaports, and other transportation infrastructure...

2. International sea routes are popular in the country today

International sea routes in Vietnam have the advantage of a long sea route of over 3,260 km, so the current shipping routes are extremely diverse. Currently, there are three international maritime routes operating daily in Vietnam, including:

2.1. Sea route from Vietnam to America

The sea route from Vietnam to America includes three main international routes, as follows:

Route through the Suez Canal:

• Route length: 11,600 nautical miles.
• The maritime route starts in Vietnam and passes through the Singapore and Malacca Straits. Then, continue to move south of the Sri Lanka-Indian Ocean isthmus and enter the Red Sea. The route passes through the Suez Canal, crosses the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar, and stops in the Americas.
• This is a relatively high-cost route but is located near the coast, so problems can be resolved quickly.
• Weather obstacles: Summer from June to September can experience storms and strong winds.

Route through Cape of Good Hope:

• Route length: 12,850 nautical miles.
• The route starts from Vietnam to Indonesia and cuts across the Jakarta Strait, then crosses the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. The ships then continued from the Atlantic to East America, Central America, or the Caribbean Sea, and vice versa.
• The route through the Cape of Good Hope does not have too many ships passing through. Therefore, transportation costs via this maritime route are quite low.
• This route is located quite far from the main shore, so troubleshooting is difficult.
• On this route, the weather often has many storms, strong winds, waves, and tornadoes most times of the year.

The route passes through the Panama Canal

• Route length: 10,850 nautical miles.
• With this route, the ship starts departing from Vietnam to the Philippines via the Pacific Ocean and then to the Panama Canal. The ship then has to cross a 26-meter-high hill above sea level to be able to dock at the port of Cuba or other Central American countries.
• This is the shortest route among the three routes. Therefore, channel costs are low. Besides, the route through the Panama Canal is relatively simple and does not encounter many difficulties.
• The weather on this maritime route is very favorable. Minimize incidents for ships passing through here.

2.2. Sea route from Vietnam to Europe

The sea route from Vietnam to Europe is considered one of the longest international routes in Vietnam, including many stages. The first leg of the train started from the East Sea to Singapore.

Here, ships stop to buy fuel and complete the necessary paperwork. After that, the ship continued to move through the Malaysian archipelago into the Indian Ocean before arriving in the Red Sea. The ship follows the direction of the Suez Canal to reach the Mediterranean Sea.

From the Mediterranean Sea, ships can travel to many different countries, such as Italy, France, Bulgaria,... In addition, ships can also go through the Istanbul Strait to the ports of Costanza, Odessa, and Warsaw. Or ship through the Gibranta Strait to reach Northern European countries; the Keil Canal enters the Baltic Sea, entering the ports of Finland, Poland, Germany, and Sweden.

2.3. Vietnam - Hong Kong - Japan sea route

The Vietnam - Hong Kong - Japan sea route is one of the important maritime routes connecting Vietnam with the world. Besides, this route also plays a huge role for Asian countries.

Hong Kong weather has many similarities with Vietnamese weather. Hong Kong's sea has stable currents and regular tides. However, when reaching the North, it is affected by the northeast monsoon. In June - July there is a lot of rain, from November to March of the following year, there are storms; and in the winter, from November to April, there is a lot of fog.

Like Hong Kong, Japan is also affected by the northeast monsoon. Therefore, storms can appear in August - September. Besides, Japan is also affected by two ocean currents and the diurnal tide regime, with an amplitude of fluctuations up to 2m.

3. Key international sea routes stand out

There are many different international sea routes in the world. However, fixed maritime routes are often concentrated in Western Europe and move to other continents. Notable routes are:

• Europe – South America route
• Route Europe – Australia, New Zealand
• Japan - USA - Canada route
• Western Europe, Northern Europe - America route
• Western Europe – USA – Canada route
• Western Europe – Africa route
• Europe - America - Japan, Indonesia route
• Far East Route – Indian Ocean Region

>>>> CLICK FOR MORE INFO: Overview of our country marine traffic

4. How important is international sea transport?

The international sea route was formed following the development of trade, contributing to promoting exchanges and connections between continents. Therefore, international maritime routes always play an essential role in the economic development of countries, typically:

• Sea transport helps develop and promote production of economic sectors, opening up trade and business opportunities that bring huge profits.
• International sea transport is a bridge for trade between continental countries. From there, it helps attract foreign investment capital, expand relationships, and enhance good cooperation between countries around the world.
• Maritime transport plays an important role in the economic development of our country as well as the world. In Vietnam alone, there are many different large and small ports to exchange ships, boats, and imported and exported goods with continental countries.
• The development of sea transport contributes partly to solving employment needs for everyone.

5. Domestic shipping routes are currently being exploited

To meet the increasingly diverse needs of international cargo transportation, Vietnam is constantly improving and exploiting international sea routes. Some maritime routes being exploited in our country include:

• North Central sea transport route: The route allows ships to pass through ports from the North to the Central region.
• North-South sea transport route: This is the largest maritime route in our country today. Stretching from North to South, passing through most large and small seaports in the country.
• Other sea transport routes: Ho Chi Minh City - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City - Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City - Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City - Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City - Nghe An... along with many other routes to serve the needs of transport and exchange of goods.

>>>> READ NOW: What is domestic sea transport? Overview and notes

6. Benefits of international sea routes for Vietnam

Currently, international sea routes play an indispensable role in the country's economic development process. Thanks to international maritime routes, Vietnam has:

• Forming direct sea container transport routes to Asia, Europe, and the US without having to go through a third country. From there, it helps save on transportation costs and shipping time.
• Vietnam has become one of the three countries with the largest throughput of goods and transport routes in the region along with Singapore and Malaysia.
• The total output of goods through Vietnam's seaports still tends to increase despite the impact of the economic recession.

The above article contains information about international sea routes that Dolphin Sea Air wants to share with you. Hopefully the recent information will help you better understand international transport routes and know more about new routes!

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• Price list of sea transport latest updated by day
• Important types of sea transport documents to know

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