Asia

Vietnamese owners bemoan outdated fleet

Vietnam is gearing up is for a big presence at Asia Pacific Maritime (APM), Singapore’s leading shipping exhibition which kicks off next month. As part of promotion of the event, APM organisers have been in Vietnam listening to the needs of the local shipping community. Not for the first time local owners in the Southeast Asian state moaned about the dire state of the national merchant fleet at an APM convened press event in Hanoi this week.

“Most Vietnamese shipowners are plagued with outdated maritime assets and limited access to capital, which greatly hinders development and growth,” said Le Quang Trung, deputy general director of Vietnam National Shipping Lines, the country’s flagship carrier.

Nguyen Tat Hoan, deputy director at PetroVietnam concurred, telling reporters Vietnamese shipowners desperately need to modernise their shipping fleet to cut costs and improve competitiveness.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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