After a day of waiting for the water, the ship carrying wood chips to Japan of the owner - Mr. Xuan Nhan - was just able to leave Cai Lan Port, Bai Chay Ward.
A day of being late, not to mention losing opportunities, each ship costs an additional 12,000 - 18,000 USD, while if it enters and exits conveniently, the total cost, fee... for a ship entering and leaving the port is from 30,000 - 40,000 USD.
Mr. Nguyen Hong Phuong - Head of Ship Agency Department, under VOSA Quang Ninh, a unit specializing in agents of ships entering and leaving seaports in Quang Ninh - said that cargo ships waiting for water to enter and exit Cai Lan Port has become more frequent in recent years; many ships sometimes have to wait for a few days, the cost is very high. The reason is that the access to the port is getting shallower because it has not been dredged for the past 6 years.
According to Quang Ninh Maritime Port Authority, the Hon Gai - Cai Lan canal is over 30km long but is slowly aging due to not being dredged since 2019. Especially after super typhoon Yagi in 2024, the port's access was seriously silted up. As of September 2025, the section from B12 gas station to upstream of Cai Lan Port No. 2 is -8.8m deep. The ship rotation area in front of wharves 5, 6, 7 is -7.9m deep. This figure shows that the siltation has caused the depth of the ship's rotation area to decrease by 0.4m compared to September 2024 and 2.1m compared to the design blockage (10m), making it difficult for heavy-duty ships to enter and exit.
Mr. Nguyen Minh Chau - Head of the Department of Flowers and Vehicles, Flowers Branch 3, under the Northern Maritime Flowers One Member Co., Ltd., the service unit that guides ships to and from ports and anchorage areas in Quang Ninh - said that previously, the time depending on water was less, now it has increased a lot due to increased agricultural channel. Meanwhile, both ship owners and cargo owners tend to use large ships to increase productivity and reduce costs.
Some agricultural product owners said that to ensure progress, they have to level the shipments in the middle of the sea many times, or transport the shipments to the port. This caused great damage to the owner.
Currently, there are 2 units exploiting and managing the wharf at Cai Lan Port, namely Quang Ninh Port Joint Stock Company and Cai Lan International Container Port Company Limited (CICT Cai Lan). The water area inside the port always ensures a depth of over -13m because these two units regularly dredge, but the outer channel is managed and collected by the Vietnam Maritime and Waterway Administration and the Ministry of Construction.
Responding to Lao Dong Newspaper, a representative of CICT Cai Lan said that the silted channel has significantly affected the port's exploitation plan, disrupted the ship's schedule and the delivery progress of the owners.
This problem is recommended every year by related units, especially ship owners, cargo owners, and port owners, but has not been resolved.
According to the Department of Construction of Quang Ninh province, the current problem is that the locations announced for dumping dredged material are all far from the channel, significantly increasing dredging costs. Some project owners who need filling materials nearby have refused this type of dredging material, because it requires progress, while the mud dredged under the deep channel requires a long wait for it to dry.
According to the representative of CICT Cai Lan, if this situation continues, it will reduce the competitive advantage of Cai Lan Port compared to other ports in the region. Many customers and ship owners said that if not resolved soon, the unloaded output at the port will decrease, especially for large ships - the core customer group that creates revenue and competitive position of Cai Lan Port.
