Vinaship to sell ageing bulk carrier, restructure fleet

Vinaship to sell ageing bulk carrier, restructure fleet

The Vinaship Sea, built in Japan in 1998, has a deadweight of nearly 28,000 DWT and is now 27 years old.

The Vinaship Sea. VNA/VNS Photo

 Vinaship JSC will sell its bulk carrier Vinaship Sea later this year to cut repair costs and generate funds for investment in newer, more efficient vessels.

The Vinaship Sea, built in Japan in 1998, has a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of nearly 28,000 and is now 27 years old. The company had initially planned to operate the vessel for another one to two years, as it has been fully depreciated. 

However, demand for vessels over 25 years old has fallen sharply, making continued operation unviable. Scheduled repairs in November are estimated to cost VNĐ25.5 billion (nearly US$1 million), while dry bulk cargoes such as cement, coal and clinker have been unstable due to geopolitical uncertainties.

Vinaship’s board said that selling the vessel would both reduce costs and provide capital for upgrading its fleet. Earlier this year, it also approved plans to dispose of the Vinaship Pearl, valued at around VNĐ60 billion.

In parallel, Vinaship plans to acquire two second-hand dry bulk carriers of 28,000–35,000DWT each, at an estimated cost of $13 million per vessel. The purchases are scheduled to take place some time before the 2026 annual general meeting, subject to favourable market conditions.

The decision was approved at the company’s extraordinary general meeting on July 23.

The company currently operates a fleet of five vessels — four bulk carriers and one general cargo ship — with a total deadweight of just over 100,000DWT and an average age exceeding 21 years. The Vinaship Sea and Vinaship Pearl are the oldest in the fleet.

Vinaship has been under pressure from a weak dry bulk and general cargo market, compounded by technical incidents that have increased costs and reduced revenue. In the first half of 2025, the company reported after-tax profit of VNĐ326 million, down 98.8 per cent year-on-year and equal to only 0.4 per cent of its full-year profit target.

According to S&P Global, the dry bulk and general cargo sectors are likely to remain challenging in the second half of 2025, making it unlikely that Vinaship will meet its annual profit goal.

Despite the weak results, the company has decided to pay a cash dividend for the first time in 14 years. It finalised the shareholder list on 15 July for a 6 per cent payout, equivalent to VNĐ600 per share, with payment scheduled for 20 October. With nearly 34 million shares outstanding, the total dividend is expected to exceed VNĐ20 billion.

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