Vinashin on Brisk Demand

Reports said that Viet Nam Industrial Shipbuilding Corporation (Vinashin) Expects to earn $500m from shipbuilding contracts through next year, the Ministry of Trade reported. Export turnover from the shipbuilding industry stood at $200 million last year. Vinashin has finished negotiating shipbuilding contracts with foreign buyers that would generate an estimated $1.5b in revenue through 2009. Vinashin estimates that with an investment of $3b over the next 10 years, it would reach a productivity of $3b per year. The corporation was currently implementing large shipyard projects approved by the Government. The Ministry of Trade concurred that, by 2010, the domestic shipbuilding industry could earn $1.7 billion from building and exporting ships.

Vinashin has beat out rivals in Asia, including from Japan, to win contracts. In 2004, Vinashin penetrated the European market by signing contracts with the UK’s Graig which ordered cargo ships of 53,000 DWT. Last year, the corporation got important orders including a contract to build a container ship with a capacity of 700 TEU for Germany’s MPC Marine. The Singapore Business Times stated that Viet Nam was endeavoring to join the world’s leading shipbuilders and that Vinashin was a comer in the industry. Despite a relative lack of experience, the newspaper said, the corporation has two great advantages: low labour costs and quick delivery.

Vinashin is now building shipyards with a capacity to build ships of up to 100,000 DWT. The corporation has signed co-operative agreements with foreign shipbuilding companies to provide and support hydraulic engines and high-capacity diesel engines. Vinashin has established a joint venture with South Korea to build Hyundai-Vinashin, the largest regional shipyard, capable of repairing ships of up to 100,000 DWT.

Vinashin said that the world shipbuilding industry was booming due to three factors. First, strict environmental protection requirements of the International Maritime Organisation required countries to minimise the use of single-hull oil tankers. As a result, many clients have sought to build new large ships before the regulation takes effect.

Second, China’s heated economic development and brisk maritime trading between Asian countries and the US have spurred demand for ever-larger vessels capable of carrying 10,000 containers. Third, the thirst for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in such countries as China and India have driven up demand. source: VNS