Ho Chi Minh City
UN/LOCODE VNSGN · Vietnam · Asia-Pacific · SG
Crew guide
Shore leave
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is Vietnam's commercial and largest port, with several terminals: Cat Lai (the main container facility), Cai Mep international port (deep-sea), Saigon Port. Shore leave is granted under standard Vietnamese procedure. Welfare provision via Stella Maris Saigon + Mission to Seafarers.
Walking distance + transit
Cat Lai terminal is 60 minutes from central Ho Chi Minh City by agent van. Cai Mep (the deeper-water international terminal) is 75-90 minutes. Saigon Port is 30 minutes. District 1 (central HCMC) has the principal tourist services.
Essentials
- ATMs: Vietcombank, ACB, HSBC Vietnam everywhere in District 1
- Money changers: Ben Thanh Market area + gold shops in District 1
- Hospital: FV Hospital (international standard), Cho Ray Hospital (public)
- Prayer rooms: Saigon Central Mosque (Dong Du Street)
- Halal food: small but growing — Cham Muslim community + tourist-area Indian restaurants
- Supermarket: Co.opmart, Big C, Lotte Mart, AEON
- SIM card: same Vietnamese options as Haiphong
Seafarer tips
Do: visit District 1 if time permits — central Ho Chi Minh City is genuinely interesting. Don't: ride motorbike taxis (xe om) without negotiating fare in advance. Watch for: traffic in HCMC is dense, and the crew-change van can take 90+ minutes during rush hour. Plan flights with a buffer.
Last verified: 2026-06-29. Confirm with ship's agent before going ashore — local policy changes.
Ho Chi Minh City (UN/LOCODE VNSGN) is a designated seaport with an adjacent airport in Vietnam (SG) in the tropical northern Asia-Pacific region. The port operates on Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh, uses the Dong (VND), runs shore power at 220V/50Hz (Type A/C/G). Nearest major airport for crew changes is Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN), 6 km from the port.
Reference
- Coordinates
- 10.7667, 106.6667
- Time zone
- Asia/Ho_Chi_MinhUTC +07:00no DST
- Local currency
- VND— Dong
- Languages
- vi
- Nearest airport
- SGNTan Son Nhat International Airport~6 km
- Electricity
- 220 V50 Hzplugs A, C, G(country default — verify at berth)
- Climate
- AwTropical savanna (dry winter)
Country-coastal Köppen zone (most ports cluster on the coast). For port-coordinate resolution use Kottek 2006 0.5° grid.
- Function codes
- 1-3456--
seaport · road terminal · airport · postal exchange · inland clearance / multimodal
- Port authority
- Saigon Port | Connecting | Sharing | Servicing
Operational details
Compiled from public port-authority and P&I-club directories. Always verify current contacts via your agent before arrival.
ISPS security level (normal): 1
Port of Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon, Vietnam. Verify pre-arrival, pilot booking, and agent details with the port authority.
Helplines for seafarers in Vietnam
Welfare, abandonment, wages, medical, mental health, harassment — 24/7 lines where available. See full helplines directory.
- Mission to Seafarers Hai PhongSouth-East Asia · Mon–Sat · en, vi
- ISWAN SeafarerHelpGlobal · 24/7 · en, ar, es, fr
- ISWAN Mental Health & Wellbeing helplineGlobal · 24/7 · en, es, ru, tl
- ITF SeafarersGlobal · 24/7 for emergencies · en
- ISWAN — Family helpline (for relatives of seafarers)Global · 24/7 · en, hi, tl
- ISWAN Yacht Crew HelplineGlobal · 24/7 · en
Other ports in Vietnam
Port-state-control region: tokyo MoU · how to file a PSC complaint.
Ho Chi Minh City: seafarer FAQ
- Is shore leave allowed at Ho Chi Minh City?
- Shore leave at Ho Chi Minh City is governed by Vietnam immigration rules, the flag administration's policy, and the port authority's local rules. Seafarers normally need their seaman's book + a shore-leave permit issued by the agent. Confirm with your agent before going ashore — local policy changes frequently.
- What visa or shore-pass do I need for Ho Chi Minh City?
- Seafarers calling at Ho Chi Minh City on a vessel are generally exempt from regular tourist visas under Convention 108 / 185 (Seafarers' Identity Documents) if their flag administration has ratified the convention and they hold an SID. The standard document is the seaman's book + ship's crew list. Vietnam may also require a shore pass issued by the agent. Confirm before you board the vessel — visa rules vary by nationality and by recent immigration-policy changes.
- Is there a seafarer welfare centre at Ho Chi Minh City?
- Yes — 1 seafarer welfare centre is listed for Ho Chi Minh City in our directory. The centres are typically run by the Mission to Seafarers, Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea), or a regional ministry, and offer wifi, transport, shop, chaplaincy, and advocacy. Walk-in is normal; no appointment needed.
- Is there a crisis or welfare helpline I can call from Ho Chi Minh City?
- Yes — 6 helplines are listed for Vietnam in our directory, plus ISWAN's 24-hour multilingual SeafarerHelp (+44 20 7323 2737) and the ITF Helpline. Helplines handle crisis support, abandonment, wage theft, mental health, and bereavement.
- What's the nearest hospital to Ho Chi Minh City?
- Most major ports have a port-area hospital with seafarer-accustomed admissions; the welfare centre and the ship's agent can both advise. For serious cases, the nearest international hospital is normally in the same city or the next major city. The nearest major airport is Tan Son Nhat International Airport (SGN), about 6 km away — useful for medevac planning.
- Is Ho Chi Minh City a recognised crew-change port?
- Yes — Ho Chi Minh City is listed in our directory of recognised crew-change hubs, consolidated from IMO MSC.1/Circ.1636, ICS/IFSMA briefings, and ITF priority-port reports. Recognised hubs typically have better port-state and immigration facilitation for crew-change operations, faster visa processing for seafarers, and more welfare-centre presence.
For the arriving crew
- Pilot ladder (SOLAS V/23) — rigging + inspection + Master's duty of care.
- Pre-arrival checklist — the standard bridge + engine + agent workflow before entering port.
- Ships' agent — role + documentation + interface with pilotage + tug + immigration.
- Currency at port — cash-carrying limits + declaration + safe practices.
- Hours of rest — STCW VIII/1 + MLC A2.3 rest rules during port operations.
Sources & verification (13)
- country_iso3 · ISO 3166-1 (VN)retrieved 2026-05-06
- country_name · ISO 3166-1 (VN)retrieved 2026-05-06
- currency_code · ISO 4217:2015 (VND)retrieved 2026-05-06
- currency_name · ISO 4217:2015 (VND)retrieved 2026-05-06
- languages · CIA World Factbook (public domain), national-language listing (VN)retrieved 2026-05-06
- timezone_iana · IANA tz database (Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh)retrieved 2026-05-06
- timezone_utc_offset · ECMA-402 Intl.DateTimeFormat (computed) (Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh)retrieved 2026-05-06
- timezone_dst · ECMA-402 Intl.DateTimeFormat (computed) (Asia/Ho_Chi_Minh)retrieved 2026-05-06
- electricity · IEC TR 60083 plug-and-socket standard list (VN)retrieved 2026-05-06
- function_codes_expanded · UNECE Rec. 16 — UN/LOCODE function-code mask (1-3456--)retrieved 2026-05-06
- nearest_major_airport · OurAirports (CC0) — davidmegginson.github.io/ourairports-data (SGN)retrieved 2026-05-07
- wikidata_qid · Wikidata SPARQL (P1937 UN/LOCODE join) (Q1076388)retrieved 2026-05-07
- climate_classification · Kottek et al. 2006 / Beck et al. 2018 — country-coastal Köppen zone (VN)retrieved 2026-05-07
Last verified
High confidenceEditorial confidence: how we grade. Data sources and methodology: /sources.