Listed in the group of major Vietnamese ports, along with increasingly modern investment in service systems, streamlining administrative procedures, the Da Nang Port is on way to reach its full potential in a bid to meet the country’s development, and there is no denying that border guards have made great contributions to such a progress stride.

Da Nang welcomes the cruise ship Le Laperouse docked at Tien Sa port on October 9, 2022. This is the first train to bring tourists by sea to Da Nang after a hiatus due to COVID-19. Photo: VNA

As the largest import-export and tourism centre in Central Viet Nam, the Da Nang Port Border Guard is highly responsible for protecting border security sovereignty and maintaining social order in the Da Nang port area. In carrying out political tasks assigned by the Party, State and forces, the Da Nang Port Border Guard Post has always performed well all of the tasks of ensuring national defence - security and foreign affairs.

In recent years, following Viet Nam’s policy of opening up and developing the external relations, the number of foreign ships and crew members arriving at the Da Nang port has maintained upward trend, especially the activities by foreign military ships.

In 2022, the unit carried out immigration and transit procedures for nearly 2,000 ships, including 3 foreign military ones, with tens of thousands of crew members and passengers in total, along with millions of tonnes of goods of all kinds.

In the tough fight against crime, the unit handled 4 cases involving a total of 5 subjects for illegal possession, trading and transportation of narcotics, prosecuted against 2 cases with  2 suspects and levied administrative fines on 12 cases with a sum of 18 persons, along with hundreds of violations of regulations on security, order and safety at the border gate.

Lieutenant Colonel Doan Van Tinh, the Commander of the Da Nang Port Border Guard Post said: “For military ships arriving at the Da Nang Port, the unit has come up with plans to maintain their normal operations and their crew members, handle procedures according to competence in a quick yet effective manner, in line with the provisions of Vietnamese law and international practices.

In addition, the unit regularly cooperates closely with forces such as the police and military stationed in the area so as to ensure security and order, and at the same time timely detecting and handling incidents and destructive activities if any.

Through the external publicity, foreign crew members and passengers coming to Da Nang do understand more about the foreign policies adopted by the Party and the State, combined with promoting the image of the country and people of Viet Nam. This encouraging fact has contributed  to the consolidation and development of good emotional relations with countries around the world.

External publicity is organised right from entry and exit procedures, escorting and guardianship, both directly and through coordinating agencies such as port authorities, customs, ship managers, travel agencies.

For military ships arriving in Da Nang, the Da Nang Port Border Guard Command worked directly with the embassy and military attaché to implement some basic contents on security assurance, and in tandem with ensuring their strict abidance by the regulations on border gate. The handling of entry and exit procedures creates transparency in administrative procedures in a fast and accurate manner.

During the year, the unit organised inland ship management registrations for 3,356 ships with 41,073 crew members, 1,524 passengers and 4,790,639 tonnes of cargo of all kinds. Through the work of procedures and supervision, the border guards  discovered and handled 21 foreigners who violated the regulations on border security, entry and exit.

Reporting by BA VINH - Translating by A.THU