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trabant

Officials float sea channel plan
January 30, 2013


KIEN GIANG, 30 January 2013: A sea route connecting the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang in Vietnam with Cambodia’s Sihanoukville and Thailand’s Trat province will be introduced to shipping companies this year.



Kien Giang’s provincial Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports director, Le Minh Hoang, said Vietnamese and Thai authorities had already agreed to open the sea route that connects with Cambodia. Kien Giang and Thailand’s Trat and Chanthaburi provinces discussed the project last week.

The route will be cover tourist sites — Ha Tien, Rach Gia and Phu Quoc in Vietnam, Sihanoukville in Cambodia, Trat and Chanthaburi in Thailand.

The director said: “It will help tourists cut travelling time between the three nations. It will take visitors about two and a half hours to go to Sihanoukville by boat from Phu Quoc in Vietnam and two more hours to go to Trat.”

The sea times appeared remarkably short and would be determined by the kind of boats could be commissioned for the service which was not explained in statements.

The sea route when functioning should attract international visitors, particularly European travellers, the director said.

Vietnam will also benefit from the route as many foreign visitors travelling to Thailand and Cambodia would also like to visit Phu Quoc Island that lies off-shore of Kien Giang province, he said.

However, all the three countries lack suitable cruise ships to serve route. No time-frame was mentioned by officials suggesting this project has not been fully embraced by private sector shipping companies prepared to make an hefty investment in ships and service support.

“In Kien Giang, only the Duong Dong shipping company is qualified, so we will encourage more local companies to commission ships with a capacity of 250 to 300 tourists to serve the route,” he indicated.

Kien Giang province is located in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam, 250 km from the Ho Chi Minh City, and close to Kampot province in Cambodia on a shared border of 54 km.

DrAndy

very amusing

trabant

found some earlier info, with makes the first item less likely, been considered before and nothing eventuated
The pier mentioned/proposed at Laem Sing is about 6km further inland at Tha Chalaep, used by dive/tour boats, across the river there is a navy minesweeper being restored. No sign of any cruise ships.


This pic from 1935 - no further info other than named as SS Nibba - maybe went from Tha Chalaep to Chao Phraya/Bangkok?

*********************

9/04/2009

Chanthaburi is building a pier at Paknam Laem in Laem Sing district capable of handling cruise ships in the hope of attracting tourists from Cambodia, Vietnam and other countries.

According to the province's deputy governor Pongsathorn Satjachonlapan, the pier, complete with immigration and customs
facilities, would need an investment of 20 million baht in the first phase and is expected to become operational around March next year.

Already, he said, Chanthaburi is a proven attraction for businessmen from Vietnam and Cambodia and he is hoping that its appeal would spill over to tourists in those countries, as well as tourists from other parts of the world cruising the Gulf of Thailand in luxury ships.

The second phase, a much bigger undertaking, will require an investment of 700 million baht, for which bids will be called in due course.

Rural Surin

Back in the day, a romantic period, public boats ran up and down the Mekong from Luang Prabang to the Gulf of Siam - servicing the communities as needed.
[1880s-1930s].

Regional wars and modern geopolitics ended these water taxi services.

trabant

^ you may be interested in these 164 photos taken 1935-37 by on Robert Larimore Pendleton of his travels in the Chanthaburi region; areas we're familiar with but looking very different



Title Chanthaburi Changwat (Thailand), steamboat at Ta Chalep wharf
Part of Set Robert Larimore Pendleton - Nitrate Negatives
Date of Photograph 1937
Photographer's Note Air Field, Tamai; Ta Chalep, etc. Chantaburi [Chanthaburi]. Sept 4, 5, 1937. Proms Panatomic. Nibha coming to Ta Chalep Wharf. 5.6 1/100 G.
Photographer Pendleton, Robert Larimore, 1890-1957

Rural Surin

Thanks, Trabant.
I'm familar with this site [posted link]....and Mr. Pendleton's work.