Viet Nam News

Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) and Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin - TKV) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a strategic co-operation agreement, Viet Nam News reported. As per the agreement, Vinalines will provide services of container shipping, barges and bulk carriers as requested by Vinacomin to transport goods to local and international destinations. Vinalines and Vinacomin explore the possibility of cooperation in the field of maritime and logistics services provided by Vinalines such as forwarding services, warehousing, shipping agents, shipping agents, customs agents. For domestic shipments and import and export of TKV.

According to a report from Viet Nam News, the government green-lighted a plan that will extend the loan payment period for Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin). According to the Government Office, a new dispatch signed by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said the Government agreed with the Ministry of Finance's proposal to extend the loan payment period for export credits.    (Source: Viet Nam News)

According to a report from Viet Nam News, the government green-lighted a plan that will extend the loan payment period for Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin). According to the Government Office, a new dispatch signed by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said the Government agreed with the Ministry of Finance's proposal to extend the loan payment period for export credits.    (Source: Viet Nam News)

The shipbuilding industry in Vietnam has - much like the rest of the shipbuilding world - experienced a boom in the past several years with total contracts reaching 10.6 million DWT and a total value of $7.6 billion. Last year, contracts with overseas customers reached $4.5 billion. (Source: http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn)

The Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) signed a contract to supply eight car carriers to Norway’s Hoegh Auto liners, according to a report on http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn. Each carrier will have a total loading capacity of 6,900 cars. "This is a landmark moment for Vinashin. It not only represents the capability of Vinashin to build large vessels, but also represents the rapid expansion of Vinashin in the international market," said Vinashin’s CEO Pham Thanh Binh. The carriers, reportedly designed by DeltaMarin of Finland, will measure 200 x 32.2 m with a cruising speed of 20.5 mph. The first carrier will be delivered in December 2009, with the remainder being delivered six months after that.

South Korea’s STX Group plans to build a $500m shipyard in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, Viet Nam News reported. Situated in the Van Phong Economic Zone, the shipyard will be capable of building vessels displacing up to 400,000 dead-weight tons (DWT), with an annual production output of about 1.6 million DWT. The provincial People’s Committee has proposed relevant authorities issue incentives to assist STX Group prepare the project. Supporters of the proposal believe the project would receive government support, adding the country should take advantage of its 3,250-km coastline and ideal locations for deep water ports. The development of the shipbuilding industry would encourage the development of many other heavy industries including steel making and diesel engine production.

The Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) recently announced it would invest $18.9m in the construction of a shipyard in the southernmost province of Ca Mau. Vinashin, the country’s largest shipbuilder, said it had selected a 54 hectare site in the province’s Nam Can District for the new facility, which is to be used to build ships displacing 5,000-10,000 tonnes, the average size of its current fleet. Up to 4,000 employees will work at the new shipyard once it is operational in 2008, and the State-owned company is already working with provincial authorities to train local workers. Vinashin said its latest project was part of its plan to increase local content in shipbuilding to 65 per cent by 2010, which would require investment of about $633m.

The Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (VINASHIN) signed a contract to build two 56,200-tonne cargo ships for its Japanese partners in Ha Noi on April 21. These two ships are the first among 15 56,000-tonne cargo ships that will be built by VINASHIN under the contracts with the Japanese partners' supervision. The first cargo ship is expected to be handed over in December 2008, and the other will be completed in May 2009. (Source: Viet Nam News Agency)

The Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam’s Hai Phong branch has signed a credit guarantee with Pha Rung Shipbuilding Co for the construction of four oil and chemical tankers on behalf of South Korea’s Fortune Marine Co. The bank will guarantee repayment of loans to build four tankers, worth $42.3m. The bank last year also signed a credit guarantee with Pha Rung for the building of an oil and chemical tanker for South Korea’s YN Shipping. Pha Rung said it would deliver a number of new vessels this year and has competed repairs and maintenance on a number of vessels. (Source: Viet Nam News)

The Shipbuilding Joint Stock company (SHINEC) won a $200,000 contract to build the interiors for five ships owned by the RAON group of the Czech Republic. The work, covering wooden wall and floor planks, furniture, cupboards and lounge bars, is expected to last through the end of the year. The conversion of five ships owned by RAON into luxurious floating hotels is part of the largest-ever ship engineering project by the Republic of Czech, under the general European countries’ scheme to boost the country’s sea transport services and cruise traveling. The ships, after being upgraded, will become Golfboats, opulent ships designed as 34-room hotels, each with modern amenities such as golf clubs and shops, indoor golf facilities, swimming pools and restaurants.

The Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, STX company of the RoK and Danish Man B&W Diesel Ltd signed a cooperation agreement in Ha Noi on Feb. 20 on building a 25,000-horsepower diesel plant in northern Hai Phong port city. This took place during a conference on ship-building cooperation opportunities, which held in Ha Noi, on Feb. 20 with the participation of representatives of Vinashin and 25 Danish enterprises. Viet Nam will have a high demand for ship-building materials and equipment over the next 10 years, according to experts, promising long-lasting and effective cooperation opportunities in shipbuilding technology transfer for Danish enterprises. (Source: Viet Nam News Agency)

The Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin) generated a turnover of $493 million last year, marking a 41 percent jump over 2004 revenue. Last year the corporation signed a number of major construction contracts for large cargo ships. Many of the deals were made with countries with advanced shipbuilding capacity, including Denmark, the UK and Poland. Last August, Vinashin closed a $68 million deal to supply four container ships to Denmark’s Rederiet Fabricius A/S. Fabricius Marine placed a $4.3 million order for a 2,500 DWT container ship, scheduled for delivery by late 2006, while the company took on a $212 million contract to build eight cargo ships for UK-based Graig Investment Company.