National Policy Framework for Green Port Transformation in Vietnam

Under the national green port development master plan for the 2026–2030 period, Vietnam is accelerating the establishment and enactment of national technical standards for green ports. Key initiatives include the voluntary adoption of green port criteria across Vietnam’s seaport network; developing supportive regulatory mechanisms and fiscal policies; updating seaport master plans and investment standards to align with sustainable port criteria; evaluating initial green port pilots; awarding green certificates to compliant terminal operators; and formulating mandatory green port regulations for full nationwide implementation.

International Context and Global Green Port Standards

Although green port certifications from international maritime bodies are generally voluntary, they have rapidly become decisive criteria for global ocean carriers when selecting port of calls. International organizations such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO), International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), and European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO)—spearheaded by Western economies—host the headquarters of top global container carriers including Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, and Hapag-Lloyd. Consequently, major shipping lines face regulatory pressure from home governments to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, while proactively prioritizing seaports with clear, measurable green decarbonization roadmaps.

These carriers actively collaborate with and drive green terminal initiatives. For example, Maersk has formally requested multiple global ports—including Vietnamese terminals—to install Onshore Power Supply (OPS / Cold Ironing) systems to eliminate vessel auxiliary engine emissions during berth container handling operations.

Key Criteria for Green Seaport Evaluation

In modern maritime engineering, comprehensive green port evaluation revolves around eight critical pillars:

• Energy Management: Enhancing energy efficiency, transitioning to renewable energy (wind power, rooftop solar), and deploying high-voltage shore connection (cold ironing) for berthed vessels. Measured via Energy Consumption per TEU.

• Emissions Reduction: Monitoring and mitigating greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) and atmospheric pollutants (SOx, NOx, particulate matter) from vessels, drayage trucks, and yard handling equipment. Measured via Air Quality Monitoring: continuous concentration tracking of SO2, NO2, PM2.5, and PM10 across the terminal perimeter, as well as GHG emissions intensity per handled TEU.

• Waste Management: Systematic collection, segregation, recycling, and safe disposal of operational and MARPOL vessel waste, with strict elimination of single-use plastics.

• Water Resource Management: Advanced industrial wastewater treatment, marine runoff pollution prevention, and closed-loop water recycling.

• Noise Control: Mitigating acoustic emissions from heavy port machinery and traffic to safeguard surrounding communities and workforce occupational health.

• Ecosystem Conservation: Preserving coastal biodiversity, restoring critical marine habitats (mangroves, coral reefs), and preventing aquatic invasive species introductions via ballast water management.

• Environmental Governance: Implementing certified Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001), rigorous legal compliance audits, and regular environmental impact assessments.

• Community Engagement: Transparent stakeholder dialogue, proactive community environmental initiatives, and long-term shared regional sustainability.

Green Port Decarbonization: Perspectives from Tan Cang Tech

Certain sustainability criteria impose heavy CAPEX requirements with indirect operational ROI (such as advanced noise barriers and comprehensive habitat restoration). However, in energy management, terminal operators can achieve immediate, substantial operational cost savings. For Vietnamese ports, targeted energy reductions of 1–2% annually are readily attainable.

This high potential arises because the majority of Vietnam’s seaport equipment fleet historically operated on conventional diesel combustion engines. Converting select high-utilization equipment to electric or hybrid drive yields massive energy efficiency gains, as electric motor powertrains achieve energy conversion efficiencies far surpassing thermal diesel engines.

Furthermore, the voluntary nature of the 2026–2030 transition affords Vietnamese port operators time to design phased capital deployment roadmaps tailored to their financial capacities. However, terminal operators must not delay planning. Port authorities that fail to establish clear equipment retrofit and electrification roadmaps today will find themselves ill-prepared when mandatory carrier standards and government regulations take effect.

Consequently, port operators should immediately quantify fleet energy baselines, calculate per-unit conversion CAPEX, assess remaining equipment asset lifespans, and formulate optimal retrofit versus new-build fleet procurement schedules.

Tan Cang Tech’s Pioneering Role in Green Port Transformation

Since its inception, Tan Cang Tech (DVKT) has spearheaded landmark engineering projects driving green port modernization for Saigon Newport Corporation (SNP). One of our proudest engineering milestones is mastering the technology to retrofit older diesel-powered RTG cranes into all-electric eRTGs powered directly from the electrical grid via motorized cable reels. To date, 100% of SNP’s older conventional RTG crane fleet has been successfully converted to all-electric grid operation.

Taking our green engineering leadership further, Tan Cang Tech has partnered with Huynh Thy, Mitsui E&S (Japan), Lilama 18, and Vinalift to manufacture and assemble Vietnam’s first domestic Hybrid RTG cranes.

This milestone establishes the foundation for Vietnam to achieve technological self-reliance in fabricating energy-efficient, low-emission RTG gantry cranes, positioning domestic engineering capabilities to serve both national seaports and the wider Southeast Asian maritime market.