News / DSV sticks with ship chartering partners to bring Vietnamese goods to US

Lila Mumbai in Phu My. Credit Vietnam Maritime Corporation

DSV continues to work with liner operators and NVOCCs to overcome the shipping capacity shortage, with chartered vessels heading from Vietnam to the US.

The Danish forwarder has collaborated with partners to charter the 1,864 teu multipurpose Lila Mumbai from Greek owner Pontos Marine.

The Loadstar was informed that for container shipments, DSV works with liner operators and NVOCCs to secure shipping slots. Since April, Lila Mumbai has been operated by Chipolbrok, a Chinese-Polish multi-purpose vessel specialist.

Lila Mumbai arrived at SP-PSA International Port in Phu My, Vietnam, on Monday and departed for Busan on Tuesday, with its arrival expected on Sunday, from where Lila Mumbai will sail to the US west coast port of Everett, just north of Seattle.

Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC, formerly Vinalines), which runs the Phu My terminal with Saigon Port and Singapore-based terminal operator PSA International, said 700 containers had been loaded onto Lila Mumbai for US retailers Home Depot, Costco and Walmart.

By sailing from Vietnam to the US, DSV will bypass the need for transhipment in Singapore and Hong Kong.

DSV agent Nguyen Manh Hao said: “This is an important milestone for our company. We are really pleased that the reception of this ship has been successfully carried out. The number of customers already in the rapidly growing Vietnamese market provides goods to the global network.”

According to DSV the new service will benefit Vietnam’s importers and exporters through higher service levels and wider connectivity as well as providing great stimulus to the maritime economy during this period of global cargo congestion caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

VIMC deputy general director Le Quang Trung said, “We hope this service is the beginning of many new direct shipments from Vietnam to the US.”

Exactly a year ago, DSV chartered three multipurpose vessels for direct sailing from Shanghai to the Danish port of Aarhus.

According to brokers, Lila Mumbai  was sold for scrap in 2018, but was bought by an unknown owner, with Pontos Marine said to be the shipmanager. The vessel has been operated by Chipolbrok since March 2020, and has already made three transpacific runs since then.

A DSV spokesperson told The Loadstar, “We do not comment on specific charters, but we can confirm that on an ongoing basis we charter vessels for dedicated project shipments. These are typically one off operations controlled by DSV projects.”