Prepare to establish a national shipping line improve maritime transport potential Improve private cooperation, not competitors
On January 25, 2023, Mr Kriangkrai Chaisiriwongsuk Director of the Port Authority of Thailand presided over the opening ceremony of the seminar to disseminate the results of the feasibility study project on the establishment of a national shipping line and guidelines for the development of the Thai merchant fleet.
with Trans Consulting Co, Ltd and Chulalongkorn University by Chulalongkorn University Academic Services Center Participate in reporting the results of the project study. which is considered part of the scope of the consultation work to carry out an analytical study of investment style and value to the country’s economy, etc.
Mr revealed Kriangkrai “According to the PAT, it has employed the company Transconsult Co, Ltd and the Service Center Chulalongkorn University Faculty studied the feasibility of establishing a national shipping line and guidelines for the development of Thailand’s commercial fleet.
This is an important government policy to promote maritime trade and promote the development of water transport. to reduce transport costs and increase the share of domestic coastal freight and international freight by ships flying the Thai flag.
The national shipping line is to improve the competitiveness to reduce the lack of freight for Thai shipping. It also helps to optimize the water transport infrastructure. Aiming to be a logistics hub in the sub-region It will benefit the development of PAT service business, creating business opportunities for Thailand’s maritime industry from upstream to downstream. Encouraging investment in commercial shipping business Fully strengthening the potential of the maritime trade and logistics system for Thailand’s maritime trade.”
Currently, the Advisory Board The study has been completed in all 4 aspects of the project. The management model of the national shipping line should focus on joint investment with the private sector in the share of no more than 25%, which will make it suitable and flexible in the management related to quick decision making . It is to bring together the strengths of the government and the private sectors to further develop Thailand’s coastal shipping industry. There are many entrepreneurs and investors who are interested in investing in the national shipping line business.
For domestic transport routes, 9 routes were found to be suitable. Can switch from land transport to waterways, but there are 3 routes that are most suitable for investment and do not overlap with previously operated private routes. The return on investment was 7.71 per cent.
It includes Map Ta Phut Port (Rayong) – Laem Chabang Port (Chon Buri) route, Fire Sun Port route. (Samut Songkhram) – Laem Chabang Port (Chonburi) and Laem Chabang Port (Chonburi) – Surat Thani Port Route In terms of international shipping routes, the form of the international shipping service has been considered as 2 stages, which include
Phase 1 (First Phase) is a tramp service, a bulk cargo service. It is expected that the share of the cargo volume that will use the service of the national shipping line is 2 percent, which represents 1.2 percent million tons, the capacity i the provision of services requires the acquisition of vessels of (1) 3 Handy Max 32,000 DWT vessels for 8 rounds per year (2) 2 Supra Max 50,000 DWT vessels Service 5 times a year
Phase 2 (Second Phase) is a container service, serving routes in East Asia (China, Japan, Hong Kong), ASEAN (Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam) and BIMSTEC countries (India and Myanmar) that export from Thailand The total export volume is 20.0 million tons, and the total import volume is 9.1 million tons.
A preliminary estimate is that the volume of cargo that will use the National Shipping Line Company’s container shipping service is 2 percent of exports and imports. The number of containers is TEUS 31,005. The size of the ships that will enter the service is 4 1,500 TEUS (Feeder Size) container ships, each of which rotates 8 times a year.
“I am confident that the establishment of a national shipping line and the development of Thailand’s merchant fleet will be realized soon. And it can be developed into a national shipping line that aims to meet the needs of users of coastal and marine transport services with efficiency, safety, standards and supporting Thai maritime trade in accordance with the national strategy.
It also helps to add value to the domestic economy. Through employment in the shipping business and profit from the turnover. It causes indirect benefits to related businesses such as shipbuilding, marine insurance, etc., including qualitative benefits that cannot be calculated in money.
PAT will bring the results of the study to the Ministry of Transport. submit to the Cabinet for approval
The aim is to open a fixed route service on Thailand’s coastal routes within the first year of establishing a national shipping line and to open an unscheduled shipping service on international routes within the first 4 years of establishment. Mr Kriangkrai said
