Hanoi (VNA) - The total volume of goods passing through Vietnam’s seaports reached nearly 296 million tonnes in the first five months of this year, up 5 percent year-on-year despite the serious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The volume of container cargo going through seaports increased the most, rising 20 percent year-on-year to over 10 million TEUs. The volume of exported and imported container goods both posted double-digit growth of 12 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration (VMA), seaports recording the highest throughput of goods in the first five months were Thai Binh (up 105 percent), Dong Thap (58 percent), and Kien Giang (40 percent), while those with the highest volume of container cargo included Quang Nam (up 106 percent) and My Tho (71 percent).

Head of the VMA Nguyen Xuan Sang said that during the pandemic, the administration has regularly issued documents urging its units and businesses at ports to strictly follow pandemic prevention and control measures.

The implementation of e-procedures has also been thoroughly applied to limit the risk of COVID-19 spreading via cargo loading and unloading.

For administrative procedures that have not been conducted online, the VMA has encouraged the submission of paperwork by post and enhanced the exchange of information relating to dossiers via email, Zalo, or Viber./.