Vietnamese owners bemoan outdated fleet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“Most Vietnamese shipowners are plagued with outdated maritime assets and limited access to capital, which greatly hinders development and growth,” said Le Quang Trung, deputy general director of Vietnam National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.