Ha Long Shipyard Launches Biggest Container Ship in Vietnam
Ha Long Shipyard successfully launched a container ship in northern Quang Ninh Province with its capacity of 1,750 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU), which is the biggest container ship ever built in Vietnam. Shipyard director Nguyen Duc Than reportedly said the container ship, named Vinashin Dragon, would be delivered to a local client by the end of the first quarter next year. It is the first ship of a contract for five container ships ordered by Vinashin Lines, and both the shipbuilder and the client are members of the giant Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin). The 184-meter-long and 25-meter-wide ship, with a tonnage equivalent to 23,000DWT, is worth $36m. Construction of the ship was supervised by Germany's register company GL, and it is equipped with European machines.
Korean Shipbuilder Considers Project in Khanh Hoa
A South Korean ship manufacturer is mulling a project to develop a large-scale shipyard in the coastal central province of Khanh Hoa that should be able to build giant vessels of up to 400,000 DWT, a local official said. A source from the provincial Service of Planning and Investment said South Korea’s STX Shipbuilding Co., a member of STX Group, has proposed to develop a shipyard costing $500m at Van Phong Bay. The proposal has received preliminary support from the provincial government and its relevant agencies. Nguyen Xuan Long, director of the planning and investment service, said that the province and its agencies were putting more efforts on attracting more foreign investment.
Vinashin Signs Contracts at VietShip
Reports indicate that Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) signed 18 contracts worth more than $400 million at VietShip in Hanoi yesterday, showing the growing interest in the country’s shipbuilding industry. Under the contracts, Vina-shin will supply three 8,700-DWT ships to Kanematsu of Japan and ten 4,600-DWT ships to Clipper of Denmark. Vinashin deputy general director Le Loc said Vinashin and the Chinese company Camso had signed a US$200-million contract to build a shipyard in the Nhon Hoi Economic Zone in the central province of Binh Dinh. Vinashin also secured contracts with the two local companies, Northern Food Corporation and Southern Food Corporation for rice shipments to the Philippines, Cuba and Scandinavian countries.
