"Domestic" ships flying "foreign" flags are increasing

The fleet owned by Vietnamese enterprises tends to fly the flag of convenience more and more and accounts for a large proportion of the total national fleet.

According to statistics from the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the number of foreign-flagged ships owned by Vietnamese shipowners has been increasing recently.

The number of ships owned by Vietnamese enterprises flying foreign flags tends to increase for many reasons (Illustration photo).

Accordingly, the foreign-flagged fleet accounts for 17% of the total number of ships flying the Vietnamese flag in 2021 and the rate will increase to 22% in 2023. In terms of tonnage, in 2021, the foreign-flagged fleet accounts for 31% of the total tonnage of the national fleet, and by 2023, the rate will increase to 45%, mainly large-tonnage ships serving international transport.

Explaining this, Mr. Hoang Hong Giang, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Maritime and Inland Waterways Administration, said that there were many reasons. One of the reasons was that according to current regulations on buying and selling and building new ships, businesses that buy foreign ships that are over 15 years old will not be eligible to register Vietnamese ships.

At the same time, many ship owners buy ships and fly flags conveniently because they do not have to go through import procedures and reduce taxes and fees.

In addition, many foreign shippers also require ships to be flagged with convenience, for more convenience in exploiting international routes.

"This shows that the mechanisms for ships flying the Vietnamese flag are not flexible. Maybe we have stricter regulations than other countries," said the leader of the Vietnam Maritime and Waterways Administration.

Statistics show that, as of December 2024, the total number of ships registered in the Vietnam National Ship Registry is 1,490 (with 1,430 seagoing ships, the rest are other means).

Of which, the transport fleet has 956 ships with a total tonnage of about 10.5 million tons and 6.2 million GT. The average age of the current transport fleet is about 17.4 years (5.2 years lower than the world average ).

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/tau-noi-treo-co-ngoai-ngay-cang-tang-192250307175247449.htm