Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnamese firms have been urged to adopt aggressive risk management tools to shield export and import operations and defend market share as global tensions escalate.
Seafood sector feels the squeeze
Le Hang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said the seafood industry is absorbing multiple shocks from geopolitical friction, with Middle Eastern conflicts hitting particularly hard.
"The seafood sector depends heavily on maritime transport and cold chain infrastructure. When the conflict erupts, freight costs spike, directly eroding competitiveness. Shipping lines may impose additional surcharges or divert vessels via Africa, adding five to seven days of transit and driving up operating costs”, she said.
According to her, updating freight rate changes through VASEP, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and relevant agencies lets firms rapidly recalibrate strategy. She added that equally critical is securing a stable raw material supply to meet demand, including when probing new export markets.
Truong Xuan Trung from the Vietnam Trade Office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said aviation, tourism, and logistics are also getting squeezed as airports and transport corridors face operational curbs, while disruption to key regional shipping lanes compounds cargo complications.
The UAE cut oil output by 500,000-800,000 barrels per day after the conflict broke out, and several extraction and processing facilities suspended operations, which threatens to pump up international logistics and transport costs, lift production expenses, and weaken the competitiveness of export goods.
Trung said Vietnamese enterprises should zero in on risks, including transport breakdowns, extended delivery timelines, cargo spoilage, and payment exposure from volatile markets.
‘End of Voyage’ clause: A contractual landmine
Ngo Khac Le, Deputy Secretary-General of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association, cautioned that one critical risk scenario companies need to monitor closely is the "End of Voyage" clause. Embedded in bills of lading from major shipping lines, the provision lets carriers abort a voyage and drop cargo at an unscheduled port on war, danger, or on the grounds of force majeure.
Courts and arbitration panels have largely upheld the clause when lines prove the original route was unsafe or impractical and their actions were reasonable, but it cannot be deployed as a catch-all. If a discharge is judged unnecessary, cargo owners can still pursue compensation. Voyage termination does not just disrupt a single shipment; it can ricochet across global logistics networks, triggering port congestion, vessel shortages, container scarcity, and cascading delays.
"Firms need to scrutinise sales contracts and chosen Incoterms to pin down which party wears the risk and extra costs when cargo is dumped at an unscheduled port," Le said.
Once liability is mapped, they can evaluate response options. These include arranging onward haulage to the intended destination or an alternative port, stripping cargo from containers for redistribution, or redirecting shipments to different buyers. Other options are locating new local buyers, returning goods to the port of origin, storing cargo until market conditions settle, or, when costs exceed cargo value, considering abandoning the freight.
In parallel, they should scrub cargo insurance contracts to determine if such events fall within coverage and exactly when the policy clock runs out. For shipments still under negotiation, Le advised considering a pause to reassess transport plans against the current geopolitical backdrop.
To contain exposure and manage cargo flow, exporters must proactively coordinate with every link in the supply chain, staying in tight contact with shipping lines for updates on port conditions and alternative routing while working with buyers or sellers to agree on cargo-handling solutions.
When letters of credit come into play, early engagement with banks is essential to untangle documentation and payment snarls.
Across all scenarios, Le told companies to retain all relevant records, including bills of lading, shipping notices, correspondence, storage receipts, sales contracts, insurance agreements, and photos of containers and cargo at discharge, to protect their interests in disputes or insurance claims.
Minimising future risks
Le stressed that exporters should reassess transport contracts and bills of lading first, zeroing in on war risk or deviation clauses that permit route changes. When negotiating sales contracts, they should consider adding clauses that address vessels altering routes or discharging cargo outside planned destinations. Enterprises also need to bulk up logistics insurance coverage and weigh broadening protection against geopolitical blowback.
Diversifying transport corridors and transshipment hubs is another key lever to avoid overdependence on a single route or carrier. They should simultaneously line up backup customers and new markets to cut vulnerability when specific corridors or markets falter.
Building contingency logistics plans is now the norm. They should map out alternative transshipment ports in advance, diversify transport methods through single-mode or multimodal options, and lock in partnerships with bonded warehouses and logistics providers in major transit hubs./.
