Thanh Nien News

The fifth of the six Kilo-class submarines that Vietnam purchased from Russia has arrived at Cam Ranh Bay, Thanh Nien news reported. The submarine, which was delivered by a Dutch-registered cargo ship, laid anchor near the Cam Ranh Port. Vietnam purchased the six submarines for $2 billion in 2009. The sixth submarine is undergoing sea trials in Russia and is expected to arrive in the middle of 2016. The fourth submarine, codenamed HQ-185 Da Nang, arrived at Cam Ranh Port back in July. The latest delivery comes amidst simmering disputes in the South China Sea, where both Vietnam and China are claimants alongside the Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Last year, Vietnamese officials said that the first Kilo-class submarine had begun patrolling the South China Sea.

Maritime authorities in Quang Ngai ban a Panamanian-flagged ship from leaving after it spilled nearly 1,000 liters of oil at a local port. The Panama-flagged Chinese-owned Race Express belonging to Nova Shipping & Logistics Pte Ltd can only leave Dung Quat Port after its owners have cleaned up the spill, reports Thanh Nien News. The 43,000 DWT ship had anchored at the port to load wood chips for transport to China. Reportedly the crew of Racer Express was pumping fuel oil to ballast the vessel as it prepared to leave port. Provincial agencies have started estimating the spill's impact on the environment and carry out further cleaning after a local response team mopped up the oil. Estimates were that the spill measured 300-350 square meters.

According to a report from Thanh Nien News, Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group is facing difficulties clearing its debts but eventually it will have to pay them all, Minister and Chairman of Government Office Nguyen Xuan Phuc said.    Source: Thanh Nien News

According to a July 9 report from Thanh Nien News, loss-making shipbuilding giant Vinashin has admitted its massive expansion efforts over the past few years had been overconfident and had led to restructuring it is now undergoing. The government said that the shipbuilder’s debts totaled more than $4.2b. As a result, it has to be restructured so that it can focus only on its core business, the government said. Projects that are not necessary to the company’s development will be transferred to other state-owned enterprises, like Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines). (Source: Thanh Nien News)

The Vietnam National Shipbuilding Corp. will reportedly turn Cua Viet into a 300-400 ha port complex with a shipyard, ecotourism facilities, a golf course, and a wharf to accommodate 100,000-ton ships, according to a report on www.thanhniennews.com. The province has reportedly spent $1.74m on the port since 1993 but it has been plagued by amassing sand deposits. The people’s committee then decided to hand over the port to Vinashin hoping it would be able to develop Cua Viet and ultimately generate economic growth for the province. Established in 1996 Vinashin and its 20 subsidiaries have targeted turning Vietnam into the world’s 11th largest shipbuilder, four spots up the table, in the near future. They aim to earn revenues of $1 billion this year.

An affiliate of Vietnam shipbuilding giant Vinashin started work on the first of three 105,000 oil tankers under a contract last July with the state-run oil giant PetroVietnam. The $56m freighter to be 245m-long, 43m-wide and 20m-height will be built by Dung Quat Shipbuilding Industry Company and have state-of-the-art equipment satisfying latest international maritime conventions. The first will be handed over by the March of 2008, and the second and third by 2009 before the Dung Quat Oil Refinery goes on stream in 2009 – the first of its kind in the country which is now under construction in the central Quang Ngai Province. The company inked a $400…

The Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation (PetroVietnam) on July 4 awarded a contract to the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin), for the construction of three 105,000-ton oil tankers. The oil tankers, to be built at the Dung Quat Shipyard, are to be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities satisfying latest international maritime conventions. According to Vinashin, oil tankers of this kind are normally priced and sold for $60-65m each in the world market. The first tanker is scheduled be handed over by the end of 2008; and the second and third by 2009. The Dung Quat Oil Refinery will start operations in 2009. Under a Vietnam government strategy…