Kien Giang High Speed Boat Co., Ltd - A Bird in the Kien Giang Sea

Kien Giang High Speed Boat Co., Ltd - A Bird in the Kien Giang Sea

In early 1990s, many people considered projects to bring high speed boats into operation on the Kien Giang-Phu Quoc route, but no-one dared try because of potential consequences both in economic efficiency and passenger safety. However, the directorate of Kien Giang High Speed Boat Co. (Superdong) has proved an “iron will” in overcoming difficulties to meet the expectations of travellers.

The investment for a high-speed boat can amount to dozens of billions of dong while Vietnam’s ship building technology at that time had yet been able to manufacture a modern boat with a speed of 25 nautical miles per hour which can run over three consecutive hours in sea state 5-6. Therefore, the boats must be imported. The Kien Giang-Phu Quoc sea area often has strong waves and gales and rocky coastal waters which cause difficulties for boat movement due to tidal variations.

Business viability is another problem facing the company as not many visitors come to Phu Quoc Island, whose population is approximately 80,000. With a length of 65km and a width of 32km, the island’s economic resources are profuse but under-utilised during the tourism low-season.

So what makes Superdong a well-known name? Director of Superdong Co., Ltd. Quach Hong, said the company was established in 2003 with business lines of sea transport and passenger transport in a fixed river route. It chose to focus on developing sea-island transport routes, specifically the current Kien Giang-Phu Quoc route.

One motivation for the company to invest in this field is state preferential policies for investors in remote areas, in addition to substantial support from Kien Giang provincial authorities, Hong said. Bringing a high speed boat into operation on the Kien Giang-Phu Quoc route is not only valid for business purposes but also an obligation and responsibility toward the state’s strategy for socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta River region in the 2001-2010 period, Hong added.

Passenger safety is always of primary concern to the company. So far, Superdong has completed 1,000 trips successfully, carrying 137,000 passengers and hundreds of tons of cargo. The company plans to buy another boat (Superdong 2) to serve travellers on the Kien Giang sea route.

• Minh Ky