Up river was a small naval base, which had a strange mix of ex American and ex Russian ships. There was also a large contingent of American ex Army tugs. Whilst moving further upstream there was some excitement when the Bugsier tug �Titan� was seen, still looking in very good condition. She had apparently disappeared from the registers some time ago.
Further down stream there are many river berths with cargo being discharged into lighters from both sides of the ship. One of these was the "Thai Binh" (8,414 grt), which was a novelty in the fact that since building at Austin Pickersgill in 1980 she has never changed name. Another novelty was probably the smallest container feeder of all time, with a capacity of certainly no more than three containers!
Further downstream is a small container berth complete with cranes, and a small gas terminal. There are also many small shipyards in the area, including floating docks, that build ships and service and maintain them. Shipbuilding however did seem a little laid back and slow. A veritable fleet of hydrofoil passenger boats, all ex Russian, service the area and travel at 30 knots through the most congested of shipping lanes.
This was just one small part of the Asia trip and we look forward to further in the series from Ray in due course. Thanks to Ray for his excellent photography and research, and sharing such an interesting part of the world�s shipping with us