Pha Rung Builds its Largest Cargo Vessel

The Pha Rung Shipyard in the northern port city of Hai Phong on August 15 began work on its largest-ever cargo ship of 34,000 DWT and an oil tanker of 6,500 DWT. As part of Pha Rung's contract to build 8 cargo ships for Graig Invetments of the UK, the 34,000 DWT ship, worth 26.5 million USD, is designed utilising state-of-art technology and will meet all international conventions on maritime operation.

This is the most modern and largest ship that Pha Rung, a subsidiary of the Viet Nam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin), has ever built, a company executive said, adding that the ship is expected to be handed over to its owner in 18 months. The 6,500 DWT oil tanker, valued at $11m, is part of Pha Rung's contract to build 5 oil and chemical tankers for Fortune Marine of the Republic of Korea. This is the first contract to export to the RoK that the Vietnamese shipbuilding industry has secured, the executive said.

Also on August 15, the Ben Kien Shipyard, another subsidiary of Vinashin, began work on the third ship under its contract to build 4 cargo ships of 8,700 DWT for the Kanematsu Group of Japan.-Enditem The cargo ship, which is 111.7 metres long and 18.6 metres wide, will have its cover and some other parts locally produced by Ben Kien and other Vinashin subsidiaries. Source: Vietnam Agency