Fleet of vessels flying the flag of Vietnamese nationality

By the end of 2022, the fleet of ships flying the Vietnamese flag has 1,477 ships. Of which, the transport fleet is 1,009 ships, but the fleet is expected to increase when some businesses buying foreign ships have decided to fly Vietnamese ships.

Although the Vietnamese fleet ranks 4th in the ASEAN region in terms of quantity, 5.4 years younger than the world fleet, in general the competitiveness of the fleet is still weak as the majority of ship owners are small, with 1,009 ships. transport ships but there are up to 550 ship owners, of which only about 30 ship owners own fleets of over 10,000 DWT.

According to statistics from the United Nations Trade and Development Forum (UNCTAD), Vietnam's fleet has increased from 4th in 2019-2020 to 3rd in the ASEAN region and 22nd in the world in 2022 (in 2019, Vietnam's fleet ranked 30th).

According to the Vietnam Maritime Administration, as of December 2022, Vietnam's shipping fleet has 1,477 ships with a total tonnage of about 11.6 million DWT and a total capacity of about 7 million GT.

Of which, the transport fleet is 1,009 ships with a total tonnage of about 10.7 million DWT and a total capacity of about 6.4 million GT. The total number of bulk cargo ships is 709 ships, accounting for 70.3%.

Oil and chemical tankers have 178 ships, accounting for 17.6%; Specialized liquefied gas ships have 21 ships, accounting for 2.1%. The container fleet has 43 ships, accounting for 4.3%; Passenger ships have 58 ships, accounting for 5.7% of the transport fleet.

In particular, the current container fleet of 38 ships all have small tonnage, with an average carrying capacity of about 800 Teus/ship, the largest being nearly 1,800 Teus. Meanwhile, around the world, container ships with a carrying capacity of over 20,000 TEUS have been developed.

Vietnam's shipping fleet is "younger" than the world's shipping fleet!

Currently, the average ship age of the Vietnamese shipping fleet is 16.5 years old. The type of ship with the youngest average age is the passenger ship which is 7.9 years old. The ship with the oldest age is the liquefied gas ship at 22.7 years old. For container ships, the average age is 17.6 years old. Oil and chemical ships are 17.7 years old. The bulk and general cargo ship is about 15.8 years old.

Meanwhile, according to UNCTAD, the average age of the world's fleet is 21.9 years old. Thus, Vietnam's shipping fleet is younger than the world's fleet.

In 2022, the total transport output of Vietnam's shipping fleet is estimated to reach 128.7 million tons, down 13% compared to 2021. Of which, the container output of Vietnam's shipping fleet will reach 2.76 million tons. million Teus, down 5% compared to the previous year.

The Vietnamese flag fleet currently still handles nearly 100% of domestic transport by sea, except for a number of specialized ships such as LPG, bulk cement...

The volume of international import and export goods transported by Vietnam's shipping fleet also increased by 10% (about 1.29 million tons) compared to 2021 and mainly transported routes such as China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and some European routes.

According to the representative of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, based on the trend of world and regional fleet development and the actual development of Vietnam's fleet in recent times, in the Master Plan for the Development of Vietnam's Seaport System In the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, consulting units have also proposed reasonable ship sizes to develop the fleet as follows:

On international routes:
+ Bulk cargo will use ship sizes of 30,000 - 200,0000 DWT. In particular, ships carrying imported coal to supply thermal power, coal ore for metallurgical complexes use ships of 100,000 - 200,000 DWT; Ships exporting coal, ore, and alumin use ships of 30,000 - 50,000 DWT.

+ For general cargo, generally use ships of 5,000 - 50,000 DWT. In particular, routes to/from Southeast Asian and Asian countries use ships of 10,000 - 20,000 DWT; Trips to/from countries in Africa, Europe, and America use ships of 30,000 - 50,000 DWT.

+ For container goods, routes to/from Asian countries are mainly ships with a capacity of 500 - 3000 TEU; For trips to/from African, European, and American countries, ships with a capacity of 4,000 - 24,000 TEU are used.

+ For liquid cargo and imported crude oil, use ships of 100,000 - 400,000 DWT; Imported oil products with tonnage of 10,000 - 50,000 DWT; Imported petroleum transshipment uses ship sizes from 10,000 - 50,000 DWT; LPG uses ship sizes from 1,000 - 5,000 DWT; LNG 50,000 – 100,000 DWT. On domestic routes, the ship size is determined to be used to transport bulk goods and general merchandise from 1,000 - 10,000 DWT; Containerized cargo uses ship sizes of 200 - 1000 TEU; Oil product tankers with tonnage of 1,000 - 30,000 DWT; The ship carries crude oil from 10,000 - 15,000 DWT, oil products from 1,000 - 50,000 DWT.

The consulting units' forecasts are built relatively in accordance with the Vietnam Maritime Transport Development Plan to 2020, with an orientation to 2030 approved by the Prime Minister, accordingly, with an orientation to 2030.

+ Ships operating on international routes use specialized bulk vessels with a tonnage of 100,000 - 200,000 DWT to import coal, ships with a tonnage of 5,000 - 50,000 tons carrying general cargo, general cargo, ships with a tonnage of 30,000 - 50,000 tons to export coal, ore, alumina, import fertilizer and clinker.

+ Ships operating on domestic routes will use ships with a tonnage of 1,000 - 10,000 DWT; Specialized marine barges have a tonnage of 5,000 - 10,000 tons to transport imported coal from the transshipment hub to the factory wharves.

Written by: Mr. Win

Compiled by VITIC-Source: Vietnam Logistics website & baochinhphu.vn