Issue 01
Members longer than a container
How we handle it
Flat-rack or open-top containers, or bolted splices designed so members fit standard 40 ft boxes when that is cheaper.
Shipping lines · Vietnam → Thailand
MSC from Vietnam to Laem Chabang
MSC’s intra-Asia network links the south and the north of Vietnam with Laem Chabang, Thailand’s main deep-sea port. Here are its services, their published transit times and what they mean for your steel building.
2 daysHo Chi Minh City or Vung Tau → Laem Chabang
5 daysHai Phong → Laem Chabang (Saola)
3services linking Vietnam and Laem Chabang
1Thai port: Laem Chabang
About the line
A global line with direct Vietnam – Laem Chabang calls
MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) is a container line based in Geneva, Switzerland. Its intra-Asia network, published as “Intra Asia 2025”, includes several services that call at Vietnam and at Laem Chabang.
Two of them matter most for cargo from Vietnam to Thailand: Saola, which calls at Hai Phong and Ho Chi Minh City before Laem Chabang, and Pertiwi, which sails from Vung Tau to Laem Chabang. Dolphin gives a direct link the other way, from Laem Chabang to Hai Phong.
From Laem Chabang your steel reaches the Eastern Seaboard estates by truck, or Bangkok and the central plains. We name the line, vessel and sailing in your quotation.
Indicative transit times
From Vietnamese ports to Thai ports
- VNHo Chi Minh City (Cat Lai)1–2 daysindicativeTHLaem Chabang Port
- VNVung Tau2 daysindicativeTHLaem Chabang Port
- VNHai Phong5–8 daysindicativeTHLaem Chabang Port
Vietnam → Thailand services
MSC services calling at Vietnam and Thailand
As published by the line. Transit times are indicative; the actual vessel, sailing and transit time are confirmed in every quotation.
| Service | Rotation (port order) | Vietnam → Thailand | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saola | Shanghai › Ningbo › Hai Phong › Ho Chi Minh City › Laem Chabang › Shanghai | Hai Phong → Laem Chabang 5 days · Ho Chi Minh City → Laem Chabang 2 days | MSC Intra Asia 2025 |
| Pertiwi | Vung Tau › Laem Chabang › Singapore › Panjang › Jakarta (southbound) | Vung Tau → Laem Chabang 2 days | MSC Intra Asia 2025 |
| Dolphin | Laem Chabang › Hai Phong › North China › Korea (northbound) | Thailand first: direct Laem Chabang → Hai Phong; transit not published | MSC Intra Asia 2025 |
- Vietnamese port
- Thai port
Source: MSC “Intra Asia 2025” network brochure; MSC marks its transit times as indicative and subject to change. We confirm the actual sailing in your quotation.
Thai ports called
Destination ports in Thailand
See the industrial estates around each port and how we deliver your steel structure to site.
From our factory to your site
How your steel structure travels
The sea leg is one part of the trip. We plan the whole route from our factory to your plot.
- 1
Fabricated and inspected
Made in our own factory in Tay Ninh, every piece checked against the ITP before packing.
- 2
Packed by erection zone
Bundled and tagged in erection sequence; long members go in flat-rack or open-top containers.
- 3
The sailing that fits your programme
We pick a direct service that matches your foundation schedule and name the vessel and sailing date in the quotation.
- 4
Documents before arrival
B/L, packing list, invoice and Form D (ATIGA) reach your customs broker before the vessel berths.
- 5
Delivered to site
CIF to the Thai port, or DDP with clearance, duty and trucking to your site.
Steel structure by sea
What we settle when shipping structural steel
Issue 02
Free time at the port
How we handle it
Shipments go out by erection zone, timed to your foundations, so containers leave the terminal straight away.
Issue 03
Duty preference and documents
How we handle it
Every shipment carries a Form D for the ATIGA tariff, with invoice, packing list and HS codes that match line by line.
Issue 04
Salt air near the coast
How we handle it
Sites close to the sea get a paint system for a higher corrosion category, from our paint systems range.
Related topics
More on delivery to Thailand
FAQ
Questions Thai clients ask us
How long does MSC take from Ho Chi Minh City to Laem Chabang?
About 2 days on the Saola service, as published by MSC. Add the time to truck the containers from our factory to the Vietnamese port and from Laem Chabang to your site.
Does MSC call at Bangkok port?
Not on the services in its 2025 intra-Asia brochure that link Vietnam and Thailand; they call at Laem Chabang. For Bangkok and the central plains we truck from Laem Chabang, or use a line that calls at Bangkok.
Can MSC carry steel from northern Vietnam?
Yes. Saola calls at Hai Phong and reaches Laem Chabang in about 5 days. Our steel is made in the south, so most of our shipments leave from Ho Chi Minh City or Vung Tau.
Do you choose the shipping line, or can we?
Under CIF we book the line and sailing that best fits your programme. If you prefer a specific line, tell us and we quote on that line.
Other lines
Other shipping lines between Vietnam and Thailand
Line names are trademarks of their owners. World Steel is not an agent of any shipping line. Data from published schedules and subject to change.
Planning to ship a steel building to Thailand?
Send us your site location and building size. We reply with a concept design, a CIF price to the nearest Thai port and a sailing that fits your programme.