Vietnam’s shipbuilding industry has great opportunities due to the need to renew domestic and international fleets amid the green transition trend. Many shipbuilding enterprises continuously receive large orders from foreign partners.
Large, high-tech ship
Having just signed a contract to build a new 120m overnight passenger ship with Scenic Luxury Cruises and Tours (Australia), Mr. Nguyen Tuan Anh, General Director of Ha Long Shipbuilding Company Limited, said that this is the third ship that Ha Long has built for Scenic. Previously, Ha Long signed a contract to build two 110m and two 120m passenger ships for Scenic.
Ha Long Shipbuilding Company Limited (Shipbuilding Industry Corporation - SBIC) launched the wind power service vessel CSOV 8720 - YN552205. Photo: Ta Hai.
These are ships that use environmentally friendly fuel with low sulfur content, and the air conditioning system serving the cabins and rooms on board also uses water cooling technology, not gas.
Mr. Tuan Anh said that not only Scenic ships, but also newly built ships today, especially export lines, all apply environmentally friendly technologies. A typical example is the 2 series of 14 CSOV wind power service ships that Ha Long built for Damen Group (Netherlands).
The ship is equipped with all the most modern technology, hydrogen engines; fuel conversion system, can use ethanol combined with diesel with very low sulfur content. Exhaust gas must go through many filtering systems before being released into the environment.
The ship owner also requires that the factory construction must meet environmental requirements and use environmentally friendly materials.
According to Mr. Tuan Anh, ensuring "green" is a high requirement for watercraft, in order to implement the regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This has opened up great opportunities for shipyards, including Vietnam, when shipping lines are forced to renew their fleets.
However, these modern ships have high requirements for the production process, requiring shipbuilding enterprises to meet requirements on production technology, production management, and worker skills.
Not only Ha Long, recently, many shipbuilding enterprises under the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) have also signed large-value orders, requiring high construction technology and especially being environmentally friendly such as: 120m long overnight passenger ship, cable laying ship, 5-star passenger ship...
At the Vietship 2025 international shipbuilding technology exhibition held in early March in Hanoi, many contracts and agreements for new construction and provision of shipbuilding services were signed between domestic and foreign partners with a total estimated value of about 60 million USD.
Great opportunity
According to Mr. Hoang Hong Giang, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Maritime and Waterways Administration, as of December 2024, Vietnam's fleet has 1,490 vessels, including 1,430 seagoing vessels and other vehicles. Of these, the transport fleet has 956 vessels, with an average age of 17.4 years.
By 2030, Vietnam's fleet is expected to reach 1,600 - 1,750 ships. This also means that it will be necessary to build about 95 - 245 new ships (16 - 41 ships/year), equivalent to a total tonnage of 4-5 million tons (including the number of new ships built and replacing the old fleet).
Globally, by 2024, there will be more than 109,000 ships in the world, with an average age of more than 21 years. More than 50% of the fleet is over 15 years old. The high age of the fleet has led to a rapid increase in the need for fleet renewal.
According to Mr. Giang, in addition to transportation needs, the major factor influencing fleet innovation is climate change, forcing the shipping industry to switch to clean energy.
With the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 and the implementation of greenhouse gas emission reduction plans and green transitions committed by countries at COP26, means of transport must have solutions to reduce emissions and switch to ships using environmentally friendly fuels.
Many countries aim to become a green shipbuilding center by 2030; by 2050, 100% of domestic ships will use green energy. In particular, Vietnam plans to encourage investment in green energy vehicles in the 2022-2030 period; and to convert all domestic ships to green energy in the 2031-2050 period.
"This is a great opportunity for the shipbuilding industry," said Mr. Giang, adding that there should be preferential investment policies and support for technological innovation and shipbuilding infrastructure.
Need to invest and upgrade technology
Mr. Pham Hoai Chung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, said that according to the list of Top 15 global shipbuilding powers (data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) published by Insider Monkey, Vietnam ranked 7th.
The shipbuilding market is also shifting to Asia, mainly China, Japan, and South Korea, with 85% of total new ship orders in 2023. This is an opportunity for the Vietnamese shipbuilding industry to take advantage of available conditions in technology, resources, and labor to participate in niche markets and shipbuilding for export.
According to Mr. Chung, Vietnam has built most of the general cargo ships, bulk carriers, oil tankers, and car carriers; and built a number of supporting industrial facilities to support the shipbuilding industry.
Domestic market demand by 2050 will require an average of about 100 ships/year; global market demand is huge, reaching more than 200 billion USD by 2030. Vietnam still has many opportunities to participate in this "playground".
"However, to seize the opportunity, it is necessary to have a strategy to develop the shipbuilding industry; invest in and upgrade infrastructure, equipment, and technology; have policies to develop supporting industries, and policies to encourage and attract high-quality human resources in the shipbuilding industry...", Mr. Chung said.
As of June 30, 2024, Vietnam has 88 shipbuilding enterprises and 411 inland waterway vehicle construction facilities, of which about 120 enterprises build and repair ships with a tonnage of over 1,000 tons. The total new building capacity of the factories is up to 2.6 million DWT/year.
In fact, Vietnamese shipbuilding enterprises have participated and integrated with the international market, producing a variety of products, including large-capacity ships, specialized ships, high-speed ships, high-tech ships, etc.
Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/nhieu-don-hang-lon-dong-tau-lo-lam-khong-het-viec-192250313225907856.htm
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