Japanese weigh anchor at Cam Ranh shipyard

Oshima Shipbuilding Vietnam has withdrawn from a large-scale shipyard project in Vietnam

Vo Tan Thai, director of the Khanh Hoa Provincial  Department of Planning and Investment told VIR last week that the Japanese firm’s Oshima Shipbuilding Vietnam Co., Ltd had announced it would end investment in its $180 million project as the firm lacked sufficient funds.

Thai added that the province was preparing administrative procedures for revoking the investment certificate of the giant shipyard, but the process could take up to six months.

“Oshima delayed construction too long and that affected both the province’s investment climate and local residents,” said Thai.

An anonymous Oshima Shipbuilding source confirmed to VIR that Oshima was set to withdraw and Oshima’s parent company in Japan were working with local authorities on this.

According to Thai, the project held a key part in Vietnam’s shipping master plan.  According to the initial plan, work was expected to kick off in August 2013, with the first phase of the shipyard completed by 2017.

The site’s detailed plan was completed 15 months after Oshima Shipbuilding received an investment certificate back as February 2012.

A 304 hectare site was identified for the project in Hoa Diem and Hiep Thanh hamlets in Cam Ranh city’s Cam Thinh Dong commune.

The $180-million shipyard was eventually supposed to employ 3,000 local workers.

In the first phase, the yard would be capable of producing up to 12 ships a year, including ships of up to 82,000 tonnes. In the second phase, the shipyard could expand to produce 48 vessels a year by 2026.

Cam Ranh Bay is one of Vietnam’s key deep-water bays and also one of three major economic areas in the province. The province already hosts two shipyards with one owned by state-run developer Vietnam Shipbuilding Industrial Group (Vinashin) and the other by Huyndai - Vinashin Shipyard Co., Ltd, a joint venture between Korea’s Huyndai Group and Vinashin.