VietNamNet Bridge - Building submarines is beyond Vietnam’s capacity as Vietnamese engineers now can only build midrange ships, torpedo boats and some other models, experts say.

The Vietnam News Agency on February 24 quoted Maxim Kochetkov, Director for the Shipbuilding Industry and Marine Department under the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, as saying that though Vietnam and Russia have been cooperating for a long time in shipbuilding, Vietnam rarely raises initiative on developing a bilateral relationship in the field.

Nguyen Khac Hien, former director of the Ship Consultation & Design Company, a subsidiary of Vinashin, the largest shipbuilding group in Vietnam, said the comment does not surprise him.

Hien said Russia is famous for building military ships, but not civil ships. The Netherlands, South Korea and Japan have greater potential in the field.

Meanwhile, building submarines is beyond Vietnam’s capability. He said Vietnamese engineers now can only build midrange ships, torpedo boats and some other models.

Vinashin was criticized for missing big opportunities to learn to build submarines from Russia when Vietnam and Russia ran a cooperation program in the field. 

However, Hien thinks it is unreasonable to say ‘Vinashin missed the opportunities’. In fact, Vinashin could not do this because of its incapable workforce.

“I think the Institute of Military Science and Technology and Naval Technical Institute could. But the opportunities were missed,” he said.

Building submarines is beyond Vietnam’s capacity as Vietnamese engineers now can only build midrange ships, torpedo boats and some other models

Damen-Song Cam is considered a powerful shipbuilder in Vietnam. However, it would become a 100 percent foreign owned in the future.

Meanwhile, Nam Trieu, Ben Thuy and Vinashin Bach Dang can only build basic ships and cannot build ships which require sophisticated components.

“It is just like we can do some types of vehicles, but we cannot make sedans,” he said.

“Therefore, it would be better for us not to cherish illusionsvand put high hopes on our shipbuilding yards with the existing conditions,” he said.

“Vinashin remains a corporation which only has the ability of making ships in accordance with foreign designs and building  ships of 100,000 tons at maximum,” he maintained, adding that it is impractical to dream of becoming the fourth largest shipbuilder in the world.

“How can we become a shipbuilder with international stature if we just can make ships with the tonnage of 3,000-5,000 tons with simple designs, capable of use on domestic routes?” he said. 

Do Thai Binh, deputy chair of the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Science & Technology, said Russia has always been an important partner for Vietnam, and many things still need to be done to develop the cooperation.

He also thinks that Russia has been mostly implementing contracts on building military vessels.

Dat Viet