The main aim of this paper, via the method of statistical data analysis, is to analyze the current situation of the shipping industry and policies of the shipping industry in Vietnam. Section 1 gives some key information about the current situation of the shipping industry in Vietnam such as: shipping companies and their fleets, seafarers and ports. In view of the many restrictions faced by the Vietnamese shipping industry, section 2 is used to disclose the policies issued by the Vietnamese government in order to help the domestic maritime industry develop further in the near future, and the outcomes of implementing these policies. Besides the fact that some of the measures were feasible and reasonable, some others were not as effective as they were supposed to be, or in fact the initial forecast of their effectiveness was far-fetched. In the last section, after analyzing reasons for the failures, the author proposes that focusing on coastal transportation routes, fleet and port restructuring and skilled labour training were truly necessary to the development of the industry in the immediate period. Furthermore, this paper is also expected to provide a basic foundation for further research by the authors about 'the strategical approach for the development of shipping industry in developing countries: a case of Vietnam' in the near future.

• Thanh Van Le(Graduate School of Mokpo National Maritime University)
• Sung-june Kim(Department of Liberal Arts and Science, Mokpo National Maritime University) Corresponding Author
• Jung-sik Jeong(Department of International Maritime Transportation Science, Mokpo National Maritime University)