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Vietnam cracking down on overweight containers

Hanoi: Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport (MOT) has set up taskforces in the country’s ports to supervise cargo loading and prevent overweight containers for overland transportation.

The MOT says it plans to enforce these measures by temporarily shutting ports and firing directors who violate its weight regulations.

Of the country’s 222 seaports, 206 have signed an agreement to cooperate to not overload cargo.

Certain seaports, however, still allow cargo to be switched to different tractors or added additional cargo to tractors after they left the ports, a spokesperson for Saigon Trading Group told press.

Critics have also said the measures have led to unfair competition among seaports and were difficult to monitor.

The stricter weight control regulations have made some shippers switch to sea transport as a cheaper alternative, and many say the country’s maritime industry is unfit to handle the extra pressure. [11/10/14]

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