VIETNAM has been forced to renew its fleet of 105 vessels visiting Hong Kong as many fail to meet international standards.
Tran Van Luynh, director of Scarbrook Shipping & Trading, a company belonging to Vietnam's trade representative office in Hong Kong, said the country needed to buy more container ships to replace its outdated fleet.
Vietnam's 105 ships, owned, managed and operated by about 30 state-owned companies, have a total tonnage of 578,000 deadweight.
Hong Kong is Vietnam's major foreign port for delivering and receiving goods.
The Marine Department has also acknowledged problems with Vietnamese vessels, saying its surveyors had conducted port control inspections on eight Vietnamese ships last year, resulting in the detection of 134 problems.
Seven out of the eight ships were detained for repairs; in each instance the Vietnamese office was advised when the detention order was issued.
