Feasibility of a Coastal Shipping Agreement Among Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam
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February 2020 Contents CHAPTER 1. Introduction---------------------------------------------- 1 1. Background ..................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Objectives ....................................................................................................................................... 1 3. Scope of Study ................................................................................................................................ 2 CHAPTER 2. Challenges and Opportunities on Coastal Shipping of Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam----- --------------------------3 1. Coastal Shipping ............................................................................................................................. 3 2. Intra Subregional Merchandise Trade Flow ................................................................................... 3 3. Intra Subregional Tourism Flow...................................................................................................... 8 4. Status of Coastal Shipping .............................................................................................................. 9 4.1 Cambodia ................................................................................................................................... 9 4.2 Viet Nam .................................................................................................................................. 11 4.3 Thailand ................................................................................................................................... 13 5. Lessons Learned from Other Countries ........................................................................................ 14 5.1 India and Bangladesh .............................................................................................................. 14 5.2 BIMSTEC................................................................................................................................... 16 5.3 EU Short Sea transport ............................................................................................................ 18 6. Challenges of Coastal Shipping faced by CTV and beyond ........................................................... 21 7. Opportunities for Coastal Shipping related to SDG 2030 ............................................................. 22 CHAPTER 3. Promotion of Coastal Shipping among Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam---------- ------------------------------------25 1. Vision and Long-Term Plan for Coastal Shipping Promotion ........................................................ 24 2. Agreement on Coastal Shipping among CTV ................................................................................ 25 3. Practical Approach Concepts to Promote Coastal Shipping ......................................................... 29 CHAPTER 4. Conclusions--------------------------------------------31 1. Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 31 2. Way Forward ................................................................................................................................. 32 i Acknowledgments The present publication was prepared by the Transport Connectivity and Logistics Section, Transport Division, ESCAP. The study was developed under the project entitled “Capacity- Building Workshop on Strengthening Operational Transport Connectivity among Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Viet Nam and Thailand countries”, implemented by Transport Division. The study was led by Mr. Sooyeob Kim, Economic Affairs Officer, Transport Division with Professor. Duangphastra, Chackrit as core author; under the supervision of Ms. Azhar Jaimurzina Ducrest, Chief of Transport Connectivity and Logistics Section. Recognition of contributions is also accorded to Ms. Jing Huang for her technical input to the study. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the Government of the Republic of Korea for the generous funding of this study. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Secretariat. The opinions, figures and estimates set forth in this publication are the responsibility of the authors and should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or carrying the endorsement of the United Nations. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Mention of firm names and commercial products does not imply the endorsement of the United Nations. This report has been issued without formal editing. ii Summary Coastal shipping including inland waterways, which has advantages for long haul and bulk cargo transport, can contribute to the development of safe and reliable transport and accessible and sustainable transport systems. Although coastal shipping has been recognized as an environmentally friendly means of transport, Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam still have a transport system that heavily relies on land transport, especially road transport. In developing the coastal shipping, the Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam face common challenges, such as inadequate infrastructure, unstable services, inadequate development of integrated intermodal transport, the risk of accidents associated with aging vessel operations, lack of investment resources, and inconsistent policies. The ports of service were determined by consultation between the three governments to promote coastal shipping, but further consultation is required on technical issues such as ships, crew and safety standards. To support this work, the secretariat conducted a study on measures to facilitate efficient coastal shipping between Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam with the goal to contribute to the development of recommendations and way forward for sustainable coastal shipping among these countries. iii Feasibility of A Coastal Shipping Agreement among Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam CHAPTER 1. Introduction 1. Background Maritime transportation is widely accepted as the most important mode of transportation for the international merchandise trade and also catered to serve cruise tourism along the coastline in many parts of the world, especially along the shoreline of Andaman Sea, Caribbean Sea, South China Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and the Pacific Rim of North America. Over the past decades, ASEAN countries have recognised the maritime transport as a key instrument to integrate regional economic community and established the roadmap containing a series of plans and measures to improve port facilities, navigation aids, and accessibility to ports, specifically those serving deep seagoing vessels operated by major global shipping lines. Still only a small number of plans and measures were initiated to improve the capacity of coastal transportation which mainly focus to accommodate domestic merchandize trade and travel. In 2015, three coastal states in the north of ASEAN comprising Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam (CTV) decided to pursue the opportunity to create the intra-subregional coastal shipping along their target coastal service area as an alternative mean of transport to promote the fast growing intra-subregional trade, investment, and tourism. Furthermore, the coastal shipping development initiative should strengthen the economic and logistics ties in the ASEAN Community and related sub-regional cooperation such as Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) and Ayeyarwady - Chao Phraya Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECES). In 2016, the Taskforce on Coastal Shipping Development along the Eastern Coast of Thailand to South of Cambodia and Viet Nam was set up to act as a platform for exchanging information on opportunities and challenges together with providing possible guidelines for promoting coastal shipping along the target service areas. This study examines current status, challenges, and opportunities for developing coastal shipping to trade in goods and passengers between and among Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam (CTV). The study will propose recommendations for establishing the coastal shipping agreement among three countries and practical approaches to promote the intra subregional coastal trade. 2. Objectives • To conduct a preliminary assessment of coastal shipping in the target service areas in Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam. • To recommend practical ways for relevant key players to promote intra-subregional coastal shipping in the target service areas. 1 Feasibility of A Coastal Shipping Agreement among Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam 3. Scope of Study The study emphasizes on the development of coastal shipping services along the Eastern Coast of Thailand to the South of Cambodia and Viet Nam. The study uses information gathered from secondary sources and site visit at certain coastal areas in October to November 2019. 2 Feasibility of A Coastal Shipping Agreement among Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam CHAPTER 2. Challenges and Opportunities on Coastal Shipping of Cambodia, Thailand, and Viet Nam 1. Coastal Shipping Coastal shipping, coastal transportation, coastal trade or sometimes short