Historically, inland water transport (IWT) has been the most reliable and conventional form of transport in Cambodia. Although it was thought before the 1970s that road and rail transport might replace it, it is now clear that IWT still remains the most important traditional and most useful mode of transport.

Cambodia’s navigable inland waterways measure a total length of 1,750 km. The Mekong mainstream accounts for 30% of the total, the Tonle Sap River 15%, the Bassac River 5%, and other tributaries 50%. Year-round navigation is possible through 780 km long and a third of the width of the river. Inadequate dredging and navigation aids have been impediments to increased use of these waterways.

For the 102 km stretch between the Vietnam border and Phnom Penh, the bends of the river prevent the passage of vessels more than 110 m long. For existing cargo vessel designs this probably means a limitation of about 7,000 DWT. Boats up to 150-mt capacity can be used as far as Kratie. Larger boats can be used at high water. At low water the 600 MT boat can only carry 80 MT to Kratie while the 80-130 MT boats can usually carry 50-60 MT. Between Kratie and Stung Treng (120 km) 50 MT boats can pass without difficulty in the rainy season but at low water levels the rocky conditions limit the passage to smaller vessels of up to 20-MT. Above Stung Treng to Veunkham just across the Lao border only small boats can pass with some 10 to 15 MT at low water and perhaps 50 MT at high water.

On the Tonle Sap river the draft is about 1 m in the dry season but can reach up to 4 m in the rainy season. There is a water depth of only 0.5 m at the entrance to the Great Lake in the dry season. Some traffic between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, for example goes by road from Phnom Penh to the Lake and then proceeds by boat at Kampong Chhnang or Battambang provinces. A high water, boats up to 150 MT capacity can be used between Phnom Penh and the Lake.

The main other waterway of importance for commercial river transport is the Bassac which links Phnom Penh with Chau Doc, the capital of Vietnam's An Giang Province. This can be used by 100 MT boats and it also has a network of tributaries and canals mostly in Takeo province which can take up to 100 MT boats at high water but loads can be limited to 10 MT at low water. Most vessels on this network are in the 20-30 MT range and are used for trade between Takeo and the Vietnam delta area.

Source: http://www.jterc.or.jp/koku/koku_semina/pdf/100910_seminer_Vutha.pdf

For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List.

Company Information

For more information on waterway company contact details, please see the following link: 4.4 Port and Waterways Companies Contact List.

Travel Time Matrix

The durations mentioned above are the estimated time only. The actual durations are based on main several factors such as:

• Types of ship: there are many types of ship running on these routes and those ships have different weight, size, and engine power, which cause the different traveling time. Empty ships can travel faster than full loaded ships.
• Waterway conditions: The speed of the ship is also according to water draft, which has a significant difference between dry season, 4.5m, and rainy reason, 5.5m. Mekong river has a noticeable waterflow characteristic. When the season changes, the direction of the waterflow also reversely changes, which affects the speed of the ship when it travels contrast waterflow.

Key Routes

Port Information