CAM RANH BAY

Vietnamese Vinh Cam Ranh a two-part deepwater inlet on the South China Sea, south-central Vietnam. It is approximately 20 miles (32 km) long from north to south and up to 10 miles (16 km) wide. It has been called the finest deepwater shelter in Southeast Asia. The Binh Ba Bay, or outer bay, with Binh Ba Island lying off the tip of Point Cam Linh, offers some protection to ships at anchor, but the 1-mile- (1.6-kilometre-) wide strait that opens into the inner bay of Cam Linh provides year-round protection from monsoons and typhoons. On the western shore of Cam Linh is the site of the former French naval base and port of Ba Ngoi (now Cam Lam). On the opposite, or Point Cam Linh, side is the city of Cam Ranh and former U.S. air and naval installations. In 1905 the two roadsteads sheltered the fleet of the Russian admiral Z.P. Rozhestvensky en route to the naval battle of Tsushima. In 1941 the bay was seized by Japanese forces, which withdrew in 1945. In 1965 the U.S. military built a vast supply-base complex and airfields over much of the 100-square-mile (260-square-kilometre) peninsula, turning them over to South Vietnam in 1972. They were captured by North Vietnam forces in April 1975.