ABS, Vietnam Register sign joint cooperation agreement

Offshore staff

HOUSTON -- ABS has signed an expanded agreement of cooperation with Vietnam Register (VR) covering a wide range of classification and statutory certification services.

Christopher J Wiernicki, ABS president, and Nguyen Van Ban, general director of Vietnam Register signed the agreement at ABS headquarters in Houston on May 14. Previously, the two societies had operated under a limited cooperative agreement, originally signed in 1994 and amended in 1999.

A key element of the new agreement is a program that will be instituted by ABS to train and qualify VR surveyors to ABS standards, ABS says.

"Vietnam's shipping and shipbuilding industries are expanding rapidly with a specific focus on international contracts," Wiernicki says. "The Vietnam Register has a great deal of experience with smaller coastal ships and some offshore installations, but the changing nature of the nation's shipping industry means they must now expand their horizons and capabilities. This agreement will allow ABS to assist them in meeting that challenge while, at the same time, giving us greater access to the expanding Vietnamese market."

The agreement also recognizes the probability that there will be increased traffic into US ports by Vietnamese flag ships as a result of the recent granting of permanent non-discriminatory treatment status to Vietnamese products by the US Government, and Vietnam's acceptance as a member of the World Trade Organization, ABS says.

"For the Vietnamese shipowners who are expanding into the deep sea, international trades, particularly the trades to the US, the partnership with ABS gives them the security of a classification certificate from an established member of IACS and access to the global network of ABS surveyors while, at the same time, allowing them to support their own national classification society," Wiernicki says.

According to Nguyen, the agreement is the next step in the development of Vietnam's capabilities. "We have been very impressed with the technical capabilities of ABS and also by their extensive training programs offered through the ABS Academy. We are looking forward to working closely with the survey and engineering staff of ABS as they expand their activities in Vietnam. We have much to learn but also much to offer and this new agreement will be of great mutual benefit to both societies."

The growing Vietnam shipbuilding industry reportedly has set its sights on rising from its current position as the eighth largest shipbuilding nation to the number four position behind Korea, Japan, and China. Vietnam experienced a 44% year on year growth in 2006. The current order book of the Vietnamese yards now numbers over 100 vessels, of which around half are for foreign owners, ABS says.

5/21/2007