A 58,000-DWT container ship has successfully passed through the newly dredged Soai Rap waterway in HCM City, becoming the largest DWT container vessel entering the waterway.

The MSC Florida, entered the Saigon Premier Container Terminal (SPCT) on June 18, is a container ship registered in Liberia.

In June last year, the second phase of the Soai Rap dredging project was completed, allowing Soai Rap to receive 50,000DWT fully loaded vessels and 70,000DWT partially loaded vessels.

With the ability to receive large vessels, the Soai Rap waterway will help shipping companies reduce transport costs as it is the shortest route to HCM City ports.

Previously, large vessels that came to HCM City from the East Sea had to travel through Long Tau waterway, which is 20 kilometres longer than travelling through Soai Rap.

The city has 38 ports with a total length of nearly 13 kilometres, including large sea ports such as Tan Cang – Cat Lai, Sai Gon and SPCT that account for a large proportion of the country's sea goods transport.

Last year, the city's ports handled a total of 109 million tonnes of goods, up 28 million tonnes against 2013.

The municipal People's Committee has attributed the increase to the operation of many transport infrastructure projects such as Tan Cang – Hiep Phuoc Port and the second phase of the Soai Rap dredging project.-VNA