National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung on May 9 presented the Independence Order, third class, to the Vietnam Maritime Administration on recognition of the sector’s excellent contributions to national construction and development.
The distinction presentation took place during ceremony marking the 50 th National Maritime Day (May 5) in Hanoi.
Since its inception in 1965, the sector has recorded a number of achievements.
During the war against US aggressors, it maintained supply routes through thick torpedo and bomb barriers installed by the enemy to bring goods and weaponry to fierce battlefields in the northern, central and southern regions.
Today, the sector has managed 44 seaports and 42 maritime routes handling over 120,000 vessels each year, together with a fleet of more than 1,800 ships capable of going to different destinations in the world.
Restructuring efforts have contributed to the sector’s achievement of an average growth of up to 30 percent annually during the past 10 years.
Currently, the sector’s 120 shipyards are capable of building vessels with capacity of at least 1,000 DWT, and more than 45,000 of its sailor staff are qualified internationally.
Addressing the event, Transport Minister Dinh La Thang said one of the key targets of the sector through 2020 is making the country strong and rich from the sea with the maritime economy playing as spearhead.
Therefore, the sector should carry out a comprehensive renovation, focusing on reforming policy and administrative and legal systems, he urged.
The minister also asked the sector to pump more investments in developing seaports and pay more attention to personnel training to ensure sustainable growth in the future.-VNA
