The first two Diamond 53 handymax bulkers built in Vietnam have successfully entered service. The Graiglas and the Florence were delivered from Vinashin's Nam Trieu and Ha Long yards in July, and as the biggest and most advanced ship ever built in Vietnam are the tangible product of the close co-operation between Vinashin, Graig and the members of the Diamond consortium. Both vessels are now in service and reports from their operators are very favourable. Hayati Okumus, managing director of Istanbul-based Densan Shipping, says, 'We are very, very happy with the ship, and looking forward to our second one. Compared to the two Diamonds we had from China this one has increased dwt, slightly lower fuel consumption and the steelwork and accommodation are better. Also the vibration has been removed, so these are far better ships than the first ones from the Chinese yards.'
Dilip Nair, General Manager, Fleet Management Limited, says, 'We manage eight Diamonds from Chinese yards and now the first from Vietnam. These are very user friendly ships and very strong ships, built to last. Although because it was a new yard the commissioning was harder, this Vietnam-built ship has benefited from a lot of improved details.'
Vinashin is to build a further twenty-seven Diamond 53s at Nam Trieu and Ha Long, and also ten Diamond 34s at Pha Rung. The entire 1$bn order programme for the innovative Diamond design runs to 2011 at present. All the vessels were ordered by Graig to designs by Carl Bro, and will be classed by DNV and built under the supervision of Graig. And the programme will not end there. Graig, Vinashin and their Diamond partners are keen to build further on their co-operation, with further orders for upgraded 53s and 34s, possibly at new yards, and also new designs needed by the market in other sectors.
Speaking at the handover of the first two vessels, Hugh Williams, ceo of the Graig Group, congratulated the Vietnamese government, Vinashin and the yard management and workers on their hard work and the yards' ability to absorb a new design and deliver to stringent shipbuilding quality standards. He said, 'Today is a great day for all of us who care about shipping, for the shipbulding industry in Vietnam, its position in the world shipbuilding market and for the further development of the Diamond programme. Our next key target and major step is to build on this important experience, knowhow and confidence together to improve productivity, to speed up and to achieve efficient series construction and timely deliveries of the subsequent vessels. This position is achievable and looking ahead we will work very hard together to ensure that we succeed.'
