New passenger ships worth US$1 million each will be operational on the waterway route Ho Chi Minh City – Vung Tau City from next month in place of outdated hydrofoils banned early this year.

Tran Song Hai, director of the transport company Greenline DP, said Friday that he will initially put five express ships into operation on the route in August. A new ship will be added to his flotilla every month until it becomes a ten-ship fleet.

The flotilla includes three 60-seat ships, three 80-seat ships, and four 150-seat vessels.

In addition, Greenline DP will also have 40 more ships operate on other sea routes across the nation, Hai said.

All the ships are brand-new, domestically built with imported machines, he added.

“All the ships have two machines each to prevent unanticipated technical problems. They are designed to have a dual body to save fuel and avoid creating big waves,” Hai said.

It takes the ships 70 minutes to go between the two destinations under favorable weather conditions.

In January this year, a hydrofoil of the transport firm Vina Express burst into flame on Saigon River when it was carrying 92 passengers from Ho Chi Minh City to Vung Tau City.

After the accident, Ho Chi Minh City authorities banned all the hydrofoils plying the HCMC – Vung Tau City.

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