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Vietnam Coast Guard News

11 Mar 2024

Cargo Ship Sinks Near Vietnam, All Crewmembers Rescued

© Prapat / Adobe Stock

A Vietnam-registered cargo vessel sank in about 380 nautical miles east of Vung Tau, Vietnam, local officials said.At about 4 p.m. on Sunday, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Singapore operated by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), received a distress alert from the general cargo vessel Hung Phat 89 (HP89) within the Singapore Maritime Search and Rescue Region.MRCC Singapore immediately issued navigational broadcasts for vessels in the vicinity to keep a lookout and report sightings of the vessel in distress…

17 Jul 2019

Vietnam, China in South China Sea Standoff

© lotusjeremy / Adobe Stock

Vietnamese and Chinese ships have been embroiled in a weeks-long standoff near an offshore oil block in disputed waters of the South China Sea, which fall within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone, two Washington-based think-tanks said on Wednesday.China's U-shaped "nine-dash line" marks a vast expanse of the South China Sea that it claims, including large swathes of Vietnam's continental shelf where it has awarded oil concessions.The Haiyang Dizhi 8, a ship operated by the China Geological Survey…

25 Jun 2018

U.S. Yards: Competing – and Winning – Here and Across the Big Pond

Louisiana-based Metal Shark powers into the second half of 2018 with a healthy backlog, multiple recent deliveries into foreign markets, and a portfolio of patrol craft that has attracted multiple clients – here and abroad. Key patrol boat contracts for this rapidly expanding builder include the U.S. Coast Guard Response Boat – Small (RB-S). Over 300 of these units are service since the award of the contract in 2012 and, says Metal Shark, new units are in production and shipping weekly. Separately, over 50 of the U.S. Navy Force Protection Boat – Medium (FPB-M) have already been delivered and are in service. That contract, too, is still active and boats are shipping regularly. Looking ahead, Metal Shark was awarded a contract in October 2017 to produce up to 50 of the U.S.

20 Jun 2018

Metal Shark is Competing - and Winning - Here and Oversees

U.S. shipbuilder Metal Shark powers into the second half of 2018 with a healthy backlog, multiple recent deliveries into foreign markets, and a portfolio of patrol craft that has attracted multiple clients – here and abroad.At a time when more than a few workboat builders are feeling the pain of lingering offshore malaise and an oversupplied inland market that no longer needs large quantities of barges, Louisiana-based Metal Shark has found its groove in a suddenly active and highly competitive niche market. In fact, by the end of 2018, Metal Shark’s military vessels will be either in service or in production for nearly 50 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Latin America.

12 Apr 2018

US-built Patrol Boats Delivered to Vietnam

(Photo: Metal Shark)

Six newly built military patrol boats constructed by Louisiana based shipbuilder Metal Shark have been delivered to the Vietnam Coast Guard. The new deliveries follow an initial round of six Metal Shark 45-foot Defiant-class patrol boats delivered to the Vietnam Coast Guard in the province of Quang Nam in May of 2017. The delivery follows back-to-back U.S. presidential visits to Vietnam from President Obama in 2016 and President Trump in 2017, a visit by Secretary of Defense James Mattis in January 2018, and a visit by the U.S.

11 Apr 2018

Vietnam Mulls Coast Guard 'Open Fire' Rules

Vietnam wants to give its coast guard more flexibility to open fire at sea, amid tension in the busy South China Sea waterway, a draft law released on Wednesday showed. The law, expected to be voted by lawmakers at the end of this year, would allow greater assertiveness in disputed waters by the coast guard, now armed with modern U.S. and Japanese patrol boats, in a policy likely to alarm neighbouring China. China claims almost all the South China Sea, through which about $3 trillion worth of sea-borne trade passes every year. Vietnam and four other countries also say they have rights in the sea, believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.

23 Jun 2017

Metal Shark Wins $54 Mln US Navy Contract

Image: Metal Shark

Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark said it has been awarded a contract worth up to $54 million from the U.S. Navy to build Near Coastal Patrol Vessels (NCPVs) for U.S. partner nations through the Department of Defense Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. Metal Shark’s proposal was selected by Naval Sea Systems Command from a field of six competing shipyards. Under the terms of the award, Metal Shark will build up to thirteen 85-foot Defiant-class welded aluminum cutters for the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and other U.S. partner nations.

26 May 2017

US Delivers Ship to Vietnam Coast Guard

The U.S. Coast Guard transferred a high-endurance cutter to its Vietnamese counterpart in Honolulu, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said on Friday, in the latest effort to deepen ties with its former foe. The move follows an increase in exchanges between the two countries, ahead of a visit to the United States next week by the Vietnamese prime minister and a recent delivery of six patrol boats to the Vietnamese coast guard. The ship will help the Vietnam Coast Guard carry out maritime law enforcement, and conduct search and rescue and other humanitarian response operations, the embassy said in a statement. "This cutter provides a concrete and significant symbol of the U.S-Vietnam comprehensive partnership," said U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael J. Haycock, its chief acquisition officer.

25 May 2017

Patrol Boats Delivered to the Vietnam Coast Guard

US Ambassador Ted Osius, fourth from left, inspects new Metal Shark patrol boats with Vietnam Coast Guard members during a delivery ceremony Monday May 22, 2017 in Quang Nam, central Vietnam (Photos courtesy US Embassy Hanoi)

Six new military patrol boats built by Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark have been delivered to the Vietnam Coast Guard. The welded-aluminum Metal Shark 45-foot Defiant pilothouse patrol vessels were provided to Vietnam by the United States in a move that underscores the increased security cooperation between the two nations. The vessels were officially handed over by U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius to the Vietnam Coast Guard on Monday in the province of Quang Nam. The new patrol boats will be employed by the Vietnam Coast Guard on law enforcement missions focused on smuggling…

04 Apr 2016

Vietnam Seizes Chinese Fuel Ship

Vietnam's coast guard has seized a Chinese vessel for intruding into its territorial waters, say local media. The ship, carrying more than 100,000 litres of fuel, was stopped near the northern maritime border last week. Vietnamese media say the crew admitted they were supplying fuel to Chinese fishing boats in the area. The government-owned Vietnam News Agency said the seized vessel had been disguised as a fishing boat. The report comes amid accusations from Malaysia and Indonesia that Chinese fishing vessels, backed by the Chinese coast guard, are intruding into what the countries consider as their sovereign waters. There has been no comment from China.

04 Nov 2015

Japan Delivers 2 Used Ships to Vietnam

Japan delivered on Tuesday two used ships to the Vietnamese Coast Guard to help the Southeast Asian country strengthen maritime security, reports the Japan Times. The two 600-ton vessels, provided in a ceremony in the city of Da Nang, will be refurbished into patrol boats in disputed waters of the South China Sea. The ships are the second delivery of a 2014 deal for Tokyo to provide Vietnam with six used fishing vessels that will be converted into patrol ships for Vietnam's coast guard and fisheries ministry. The Abe administration agreed last year to provide Vietnam with six used ships to help Hanoi cope with heightened tensions in the South China Sea. Two were delivered earlier and the remaining two will arrive by the end of this year.

08 May 2014

China Blames Vietnam for Collisions, Calls for Talks

China says Vietnam intentionally collided with its ships in disputed waters. Official says no reason to suspend oil rig operations, demands Vietnam withdraw. The dispute tests Vietnam's uneasy ties with neighbor. Separately, Vietnam stock markets tumble on fears of conflict. China accused Vietnam on Thursday of intentionally colliding with its ships in the South China Sea, but called for talks to end a bitter row sparked by Beijing's parking of a giant oil rig in contested waters. A senior foreign ministry official in Beijing demanded that Vietnam withdraw its ships after its southern neighbour asserted that Chinese vessels used water cannon and rammed eight of its vessels at the weekend near the rig.

16 Sep 2013

Coast Guard Commandant Visits Vietnam

Commandant Papp in Vietnam Discussion: Photo credit USCG

The U.S. Coast Guard continues to expand U.S. ties to Vietnam with a visit by Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Bob Papp, who became the first Commandant to visit as part of an official international outreach initiative. Over the past three years, the Coast Guard, in close coordination with the Department of State and the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, has been helping Vietnam to build their maritime governance capacity by providing training assistance to the Vietnam Marine Police. The VMP is a “Coast Guard-like” maritime law enforcement component within their Ministry of Defense…