Statistics from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) showed Vietnam’s shipping fleet currently ranks 30th the world and 4th in South East Asia.
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As of June, Vietnam’s shipping fleet has 1,568 ships with cargo-carrying capacity of 7.8 million DWT.
Additionally, Vietnam’s average fleet age is 15.6; 5.2 years younger than the global average of 20.8, while the country’s container fleet has grown from 19 ships in 2013 to 39 in 2019.
Nevertheless, there has been sign of decline in the number of ships, going down from 1,600 in 2018 to 1,568 in 2019.
According to economists, a decline in size of the fleet causes difficulties for Vietnam’s maritime sector to meet 100% of the transportation capacity domestically.
Regarding the management of the operation of river-sea compatible ships (VR-SB), a representative of the maritime administration said the establishment of coastal transport routes is aimed to relieve pressure on road transportation, however, current operation of VR-SB is still limited to goods transportation from seaport to seaport.
In the coming time, the Vietnam Maritime Administration would cooperate with related agencies to better manage VR-SB in compliance with international law and maritime safety regulations.
In the first six months of 2019, Vietnam’s ports handled 309 million tons of goods, up 13% year-on-year, including 9.1 million TEUs of containers, up 3% year-on-year.
