- Business
- Southern Waterborne Transport Corporation (UPCOM: SWC), commercially known as SOWATCO, is a Vietnam-based provider of inland waterway freight transport, port terminal operations, and integrated multimodal logistics services. Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the company operates as a strategic subsidiary within the Indo-Trans Logistics (ITL) and South Logistics Joint Stock Company (SOTRANS) corporate ecosystem. Southern Waterborne Transport Corporation delivers its offerings across four principal business segments: Inland Waterway Transportation, Port and Terminal Operations, Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, and Logistics and Marine Services. The company provides a comprehensive range of solutions, including scheduled and chartered container barging connecting inland hubs to deep-water maritime gateways; dry bulk, breakbulk, heavy-lift, and project cargo river-sea transportation across the Mekong River system and cross-border corridors to Phnom Penh, Cambodia; marine terminal handling, stevedoring, and inland container depot (ICD) management at strategic facilities including Sowatco Long Binh Port; container storage, bonded warehousing, open yard storage, and container freight station (CFS) services; tugboat towing, vessel berthing assistance, and salvage operations; shipbuilding, vessel retrofitting, and drydock repair services for barges, tugboats, and specialized river craft; and customs brokerage, freight forwarding, and inland trucking for door-to-door multimodal transit. Southern Waterborne Transport Corporation serves global shipping lines, multinational cargo owners, industrial manufacturers, and agricultural exporters across Southern Vietnam, the Mekong Delta, and neighboring Southeast Asian markets. In recent operational developments, the company has deepened its integration into ITL Group's green logistics network to expand barge feeder connectivity between inland container depots in Ho Chi Minh City, industrial zones in Binh Duong and Dong Nai, and deep-sea terminals at Cai Mep-Thi Vai. Furthermore, the company has upgraded its container handling equipment, expanded fleet cargo capacities, deployed digital terminal operating systems (TOS) to enhance throughput efficiency, and modernized port infrastructure at Sowatco Long Binh to accommodate increasing cross-border trade flows and promote low-emission waterborne freight transport.