“Floating City” of 150,000 Tons Completed Ahead of Schedule: Vietnamese Enterprise Achieves Remarkable Feat

PetroVietnam Shipbuilding and Industrial Mechanics Corporation (PVSM) has announced the successful completion and handover of the FSO Chí Linh vessel to its owner, Vietsovpetro Joint Venture, after extensive dock repairs.

The FSO Chí Linh is a stationary vessel anchored at a specific location in the Rồng oil field, designed to receive crude oil and other products before transferring them to transport vessels using specialized equipment.

With dimensions of 295m in length, 45m in width, a freeboard height of 25.4m, and a draft of 17m, the FSO Chí Linh boasts a capacity of 150,000 tons of crude oil. It is considered one of Vietnam’s key “super vessels” for offshore oil and gas operations. Its size makes it resemble a floating city on the sea.

To put its scale into perspective, the FSO Chí Linh is nearly three times the length of a standard FIFA football field (105m). Its freeboard height is equivalent to a 7-story building. The vessel’s oil capacity would require 7,500 tanker trucks (each carrying 20 tons) to transport the same amount.

The scale of this repair project was immense. PVSM began maintenance and repairs on August 8, 2025, and completed all tasks by October 2, 2025, ensuring both quality and timely delivery.

Specifically, PVSM processed 110% of the total 320 tons of sheet metal and cleaned and painted over 194,151m² of areas, including the hull, tanks, deck, superstructure, helipad, engine room, pipelines, and equipment.

Additionally, PVSM maintained and repaired over 300 valves and pipes, including high-precision sea valves measuring approximately 1.6m.

PVSM also repaired the Monobouy (a combined mooring and oil pipeline system), replacing the entire railing and operation platform. The structure’s sheet metal weighed approximately 2 tons. Electrical anti-collision systems, firefighting pumps, bilge pumps, cooling circulation pumps, and exhaust systems were also maintained.

Despite challenges posed by severe weather, including Typhoon No. 10, the project was completed ahead of schedule, saving PVSM tens of billions of Vietnamese Dong.

Originally established in 2006 as Dung Quất Shipbuilding Industry Company (DQS) under the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, PVSM was transferred to the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (now the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group) on July 1, 2010, as part of the government’s restructuring strategy.

From its inception, PVSM has focused on developing a skilled workforce of managers, engineers, and technicians through specialized training and on-the-job development. Today, PVSM masters the technology to build vessels up to 300,000 DWT and has successfully repaired large-scale offshore structures, including drilling rigs, FSO/FPSO units, barges, and tugboats.