AN affiliate of the giant Vietnamese shipyard Vinashin in Ho Chi Minh City has launched a 2,900-ton containership built for a Danish customer, said the country's official Thanhnien News, which did not report the ship's TEU capacity.
The US$5 million "Erria Vietnam", built by the Saigon Shipping Industrial Company for Erria A/S, is described as an 80-metre long state-of-the-art container vessel, which is both seagoing and designed for small rivers. Construction of the vessel began in February 2006.
Vietnam hopes to become the world's fourth-largest shipbuilder by 2015, the news agency reported. With the aim of enhancing building capacity, Vietnamese shipyards are being upgraded and new ones are being built.
Danish ambassador Peter Lysholt Hansen said the launching and naming of the new ship is the "symbol" of the special friendship that Vietnam and Denmark has in the maritime area.
"The shipbuilding industry and the co-operation between Vietnam and Denmark within this industry has been one of the key issues during my tenure as Danish ambassador to Vietnam," he said.
Mr Hansen said ships ordered by Danish owners were under construction at Vietnamese shipyards and more Danish orders would come in future.
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