THE Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLBA) declared over the next five years with a US$1.5 billion budget to build box ships, buy second-hand tonnage, or lease vessels, reports London's Loadstar.
VLBA expects them to be deployed on routes connecting Vietnam with China, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, India, and the Persian Gulf.
Now, there are ten Vietnamese companies active in container shipping, with a total fleet capacity of 39,519 TEU.
Although Vietnam handled 24 million TEU of imports and exports last year, only seven per cent were carried by local liner operators.
Until 2024, the association's vessel acquisitions will be in the 1,800 to 2,500 TEU range.
The association plans to purchase 14 ships in 2023 and another six in 2024.
From 2025 onwards, the VLBA will look to acquire 4,000 to 5,500 TEU ships that can serve routes connecting East Asia with Southeast Asia.
"The Vietnamese container market is very fragmented and individual carriers are pursuing different growth strategies," said Linerlytica analyst Tan Hua Joo.
"The state-owned carriers, including Vietnam Maritime Corporation (ex-Vinalines), have continued to underperform, have not been active in building up their capacity in recent years, and have failed to capitalise on the booming container markets of the past two years."
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