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Vietnam Coast Guard - Modernization

With the long coastline and extensive sovereign waters, the Vietnam Marine Police Force cannot maintain regular presence in all waters, especially at high sea. Furthermore, equipment cannot operate in bad weather even at wind at level 9 or 10 and stay long at sea. The Government has already planned to invest in upgrading facilities for the marine police force and a development project to build a complete model for the marine police is under construction. Accordingly, the Vietnam Marine Police Force will be equipped with modern vehicles.

The ships of Vietnam Coast Guard are equipped to suit each individual functions.

• To patrol and protect the coast, including ships from 120-400 tons, with a very high speed, powerful armament, number is 00xx, 20XX, 30xx, 40xx, 50xx.
• Mission support, search and rescue, including vessels from 1000 - 2000 tons, usually 60xx numbers
• Offshore patrol duties and command consists of vessels in 2500 tons or more, helicopter floor, usually the number 80xx
• Particularly for search and rescue missions, there are usually ships bearing number 90 .. or SAR
• Number begins with CBS (Marine Police). Example: CBS 8001, CBS 4033 ...
• There are also 3 aircraft CASA C-212 cruise bearing number 8981, 8982, 8983 with modern technical equipment in accordance with European standards, are designed specifically for the task of naval cruise.

The Maritime Police force is equipped with vessels capable of enforcing the laws related to sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in Vietnam’s waters. All activities of the Vietnam Maritime Police are directly organized, managed and operated by the Ministry of National Defense.

When purchasing new boats, at the same time the Vietnamese coast guard also received from the Vietnamese navy a number of 100-ton patrol boats. The patrol boats are Russian military gunboats, equipped with 12.7Mm or 14.5Millimeter machine guns.

As the VMP is a relatively new organization, the GVN has been making a significant investment in equipment, vessels, and patrol aircraft (to detect illegal shipping, pirates, and locate boats in distress). In December 2002, Russia’s Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau delivered two Type 14310 Svetlyak-class inshore patrol boats for use by the Coast Guard. In 2006, Vietnam ordered another four Svetlyak-class patrol craft.

The patrol aircraft do not carry weapons or any combat equipment. In February 2005, it was reported that Vietnam had purchased four PZL Swidnik W-3RM Anakonda maritime search and rescue helicopters due for delivery in late 2007. In 2008 a team was in the United States to look at surveillance aircraft the VMP was interested in purchasing.

Vietnam purchased three CASA C-212 Aviocar aircraft Series 400 professional beach patrol and tracking. The first of the three C-212-400 aircraft ordered by the Vietnam Marine Police was delivered in August 2011. Deliveries were expected to be completed in 2012. The Vietnam Marine Police has taken delivery of the first of three C212-400 it ordered from Airbus Military. The second aircraft will be delivered later this year, and the third in early 2012. This modernized C212--400 series incorporates the latest systems and technologies, such as a Flight Management System (FMS). As a Coast Guard airplane, it will primarily be used in its Maritime Patrol role and carry out missions such as coastal surveillance, illegal fishing, drug traffic and smuggling, among others.

A total of 16 unnamed Shershen class torpedo boats were transferred from the USSR between 1973 and 1980. They began to decommission around the year 2000 and by July 2006, there were only four left in service. The surviving units have a quad SA-N-5 short-range SAM installed.

CSB6006 offshore patrol vessels were converted from Spratly class freighters in 2010. In December 2011 the 3rd Salvage Tug for the Vietnam Marine Police has been delivered. The tug was built at Song Thu Shipyard, Danang in Vietnam with support of Damen Technical Cooperation. This multi purpose ship named ‘9003’,is equipped with salvage-, diving support and fire-fighting equipment and will be active in the coastal waters of Vietnam.

The launch ceremony for the patrol vessel “DN 2000 (OPV-9014)”, with its number sign CSB 8001 was held by the General Department of Defence on 23 October 2012. The ceremony included the participation of Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Thanh Cung, Deputy Defence Ministry; Colonel Nguyen Quang Dam, General Director of the Vietnam Marine Police Force; and representatives from the Dutch Damen Shipyards Group and relevant agencies. The ship is scheduled to run sea-trials until December 2012 and was to be put into full operation by the first quarter of the following year.

Dutch shipbuilder Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS) has also been successful in the region and its 9014 OPV design was selected by the Vietnam Coastguard (renamed the DN2000) for a class of new 2,400 tonne ships being built at the state-run Song Thu Group in Danang. The first ship was launched in November 2015 as a multipurpose ship designated CBS 8005 but it is unclear if the vessel has entered service or if the construction of a second ship has progressed. Vietnam has a requirement for OPVs to counter the encroachment of Chinese vessels into the South China Sea and Dr. Lean said Vietnam is now looking at the larger 4,000 tonne DN4000 design from Song Thu to meet a requirement for up to six vessels to serve both the Coast Guard and fisheries patrol.

Vietnam also ordered another same type ship - CSB 8002. The DN 2000, at 90m long [~293 feet], 14m wide and 7m high, was the force’s biggest ship so far and can sail at 21 nautical miles per hour. The vessel’s crew includes 40 persons, the rescue team having 30 persons. Besides, it also has a landing platform for a Ka-28 naval helicopter. The vessel is tasked with maintaining security, order and safety in the national waters and exclusive economic zone; complete search and rescue missions; fight against smugglers and support fishermen.

Song Thu Corporation on 22 November 2014 laid the keel for the 4th DN2000 ship, the most modern multi-functional one for the Vietnam Coast Guard. The ship with 90.5 meters in length and 14 meters in width and the capacity of 12,016 horsepower has the velocity of 21 nautical miles an hour and can tug distressed ships with a water displacement of up to 2,200 tons.

The Defense Ministry handed over three patrol boats equipped with advanced technological systems to the Vietnam Marine Police Department. The handover was conducted at a ceremony held 27 August 2013 in the northern port city of Hai Phong on Monday by the ministry’s General Department for Defensive Industry. The boats, with number codes CSB 2015, CSB 2016 and CSB 8003, are able to transmit data and images rapidly to the information center of the Marine Police Department inland through a satellite system. Both CSB 2015 and CSB 2016 are 47.55 meters long, have a displacement of 280 tons, and can travel at 22.3 nautical miles per hour. CSB 8003 is larger, with a length of 81.5 meters and a displacement of 1,400 tons, but its top speed is lower, at 20.7 nautical miles per hour.

A high-speed patrol boat worth VND12 billion ($600,000) was presented to the marine police forces in Region 3 on 14 May 2014. The vessel is a gift of the Vietnam Fertilizer and Petroleum Chemicals Corporation (PVFCCo). The CSB 421 high-speed patrol boat is equipped with two engines, and measures 13.55 meters in length, with a width of 3.45 meters. It was built by the Vietnam-Czech Technology JSC and completed in February. According to Major General Nguyen Quang Dam, Commander of the Vietnam Marine Police, Patrol Boat H47P will greatly facilitate the marine police in patrolling and protecting Vietnamese fishermen in coastal waters. Marine Police Region 3 will coordinate with Vietnam-Czech Technology JSC in crew training to take full advantage of the boat’s capabilities, because it incorporates completely new technology.

On 24 October 2014 the Coast Guard Command signed a contract with Hong Ha Shipbuilding Company under the General Department of Defense Industry to add 4 high-speed patrol boats of the TT-400 type. These ship are number 6, 7, 8, 9, to be built based on the design specifications of the 5 ships TT-400 was approved by the Ministry of Defence. This class ships also has a variant called the TT-400TP used to force the Vietnam People's Navy. TT-400TP marine equipment 76.2 mm Gun, AK-630 anti-aircraft guns and other modern weapons.

On June 01, 2015 US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter pledged $18 million to help Vietnam buy American-made coast guard patrol boats to improve its maritime defense capabilities.

On November 4, 2015 the Japanese government gifted Vietnam with two used ships, continuing an effort to help the Southeast Asian nation beef up its maritime security amid heightened tensions with China. The 600-ton vessels were handed over to the Vietnamese Coast Guard during a ceremony in Danang, Japan has agreed to provide Vietnam with six used ships, two of which were delivered earlier, the report said. The remaining two were slated to arrive by the end of 2015.

On 27 July 2020, the US Department of States released a statement, cited that from 2016 - 2019, Vietnam received over 150 million USD in security support from the FMF program. Of this amount, more than 58 million USD has been allocated to assist the transfer of two Hamilton-class (3,200 tons) patrol vessels of the US Coast Guard to the Vietnam Coast Guard. These are the CSB 8020s (originally the Morgenthau - WHEC 722) which was delivered in 2017 and the John Midgett (WHEC 726), which will be delivered to Vietnam by the end of 2020. FMF also supports in transferring 24 Metal Shark high-speed patrol boats, of which the last 6 were delivered in May 2020.

Vietnam on 11 August 2020 signed an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to borrow 36.63 billion yen ($348.2 million) to build six patrol vessels based on the Aso-class of the Japan Coast Guard (JCG). Upon completion of the contract the Vietnam Coast Guard will be the largest operator of the vessels within Southeast Asia. In comparison the Philippines Coast Guard ordered two similar patrol vessels from Japan while the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency currently operates three similar ships.

“The project will provide the Vietnam Coast Guard with financing to procure vessels, supporting an improvement in maritime rescue operations and maritime law enforcement,” the JICA said in a statement. “It will also enhance freedom of navigation.”

The vessels, to be delivered to the Vietnam Coast Guard by October 2025, would boost the country’s maritime capability, Nhan Dan newspaper reported. It did not provide details of the vessels to be built. The ships are likely to be the 1500 ton TT-1500 class for the coast guard. The Aso-class, a class of 79 meters patrol vessels in use by the JCG. These patrol vessels have a high speed (over 30 knots) thanks to powerful diesel power plants and four waterjets. They are fitted with a 40mm main gun and four water cannons. The crew complement is 30 sailors. The vessels are “aimed at strengthening law enforcement and maritime rescue operations, ensuring security, maritime safety, and freedom of navigation in Vietnam," said the newspaper, an official outlet of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The 40-year loan has a grace period of 10 years, the report said, adding that the vessels would be built by a Japanese contractor.

Vietnam has a coastline stretching from north to south, and in recent years smuggling, illegal fishing and the risk of terrorism have increased, and so strengthening maritime capability and safety is one of Vietnam’s key tasks. Bien Dong Sea (or East Sea) borders Vietnam in the east and the south. The project contributes to Goals 14 and 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and contributes to the implementation of the free and open Indo-Pacific Strategy. The project applies a Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP), using advanced Japanese shipbuilding technologies. STEP stands for "Special Terms for Economic Partnership" which was introduced in July 2002, with a view to raising the visibility of Japanese ODA among citizens in both recipient countries and Japan through best use of advanced technologies and know-how of Japanese firms.

India’s Larsen & Toubro Shipbuilding committed to building a dozen high-speed patrol ships for the Vietnam Border Guard, according to the Viet Nam Newsnewspaper. An Indian credit package is funding the project. Lt. Gen. Hoang Dang Nhieu, deputy commander of the Vietnam Border Guard, told those assembled for the August 14, 2019, announcement that the two countries hope to cooperate in technology and engineering, including shipbuilding. The project is the first in the defense partnership between India and Vietnam and will help build continued ties, Nhieu said. Larsen & Toubro, based in Chennai in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state, already has produced 46 of the aluminum alloy ships for the Indian Coast Guard. The high-speed patrol ships, which are about 35 meters long and travel at speeds of up to 35 nautical miles per hour, have high-tech defense, guidance and monitoring capabilities, Viet Nam Newsreported. The ships will allow coast guard personnel to perform search-and-rescue missions and detect smuggling and other threats to Vietnam’s maritime security.