Vietnam's Petrolimex buys $44 million oil tanker

Vietnam National Petroleum Corp., or Petrolimex, said it has bought a $44 million oil tanker.

The Van Phong 1, with a capacity of 105,636 deadweight tons, is the largest oil tanker in Vietnam, the company said in a statement.

With the purchase of the new ship, Petrolimex has raised the total capacity of its oil tanker fleet to 453,000 deadweight tons, capable of transporting 80% of its oil product imports, it said.

The new vessel will transport 1.2 million cubic meters of oil products annually, saving the company between $15 million and $18 million on the cost of hiring foreign oil tankers.

Petrolimex controls a 60% share of Vietnam's retail oil product market.