Vinashin Builds Oil Tank for PetroVietnam

Vietnamese state-owned shipyard Vinashin has clinched a $110m order for a floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit for an affiliate of state giant PetroVietnam. Under an agreement signed between Vinashin and Petroleum Technical Service Company (PTSC), FSO-05 will be designed to have a loading capacity of 150,000 tons and handle 15,000 tons of oil a day.

It is to be built in the next 17 months. Vinashin said it would use advanced British technology to build the FSO. FSOs are usually used in oil fields where it is impossible to lay pipes linking the drilling platform with onshore facilities. The drilling platform transfers oil to the FSO where it is stored until a tanker arrives. PTSC, which provides oil and gas technical services for both domestic and foreign companies in Vietnam, has plans to expand into Southeast Asia. Earlier this month Vinashin won a $536mcontract to build eight vessels for Hoegh Autoliner of Norway. The shipbuilder is expected to rack up revenues of $1b this year, up from $690 in 2005. Along with its 20 subsidiaries it has helped Vietnam become the world’s 11th largest shipbuilder. Thanhnien