Northern Shipping Joint-Stock Company (NOSCO)

What Northern Shipping Joint-Stock Company (NOSCO) does

Northern Shipping Joint-Stock Company (NOSCO), now operating as Công ty CP Vận tải biển và Thương mại Phương Đông (OSTC), is a Vietnamese public joint-stock maritime shipping company founded on June 3, 1993, under the Ministry of Transport and reorganized under Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC). The company operates a fleet of five vessels — Oriental Glory (68,591 DWT bulk carrier, built 1995, Japan), Phuong Dong 05, Phuong Dong 06, Phuong Dong 10, and Hồng Lĩnh — with combined capacity of approximately 121,079 DWT, deployed primarily on intra-Asian dry bulk and general cargo routes. Its service portfolio spans six lines: domestic and international maritime cargo transport, vessel chartering and brokerage, ship trading and repair, port exploitation, vocational maritime training, and crew supply to foreign ship operators.

OSTC's revenue model is transaction-fee and contract-based, anchored by a multi-year contracted steel haulage role with Formosa Ha Tinh Steel covering seven Vietnamese domestic ports, supplemented by competitive bidding for international shipments into Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, plus spot and charter work for Vietnamese cement (Chinfon, Nghi Son, Hoang Mai), steel (Hoa Phat, Viet-Nhat Steel), coal (Dong Bac), and food/foodstuff customers. Go-to-market is direct enterprise sales with no intermediary or reseller channels, and pricing is negotiated per voyage, contract, or charter rather than published. The company is currently operating under regulatory pressure — having been placed on the Vietnamese stock exchange restricted trading list, classified as not meeting public-company conditions, and actively restructuring amid Middle East conflict impacts on shipping demand — with asset disposals at the NOSCO Shipyard approved to address debt and personnel changes announced in mid-2025.

Name

Northern Shipping Joint-Stock Company (NOSCO)

Legal name

Công ty Cổ phần Vận tải biển và Thương Mại Phương Đông

Website

https://ostc.com.vn

Company type

Public

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Northern Shipping Joint-Stock Company (NOSCO), operating as OSTC, is a Vietnamese maritime shipping firm running five dry bulk and general cargo vessels (~121,079 DWT) on domestic and intra-Asian routes, serving Vietnamese cement, steel, coal, and food enterprises — most notably Formosa Ha Tinh Steel under a contracted multi-port haulage relationship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Shipping Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883), Port and Harbor Operations (488310)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400), Deep Sea Foreign Transportation Of Freight (4412), Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)

akta.pro primary industry

Bulk Dry Cargo Carriers (Capesize/Panamax/Supramax/Handysize) (TLADABAC)

Keywords

• Dry bulk shipping
• Maritime transportation
• Vessel chartering
• Ship brokerage
• Seafarer supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Hanoi

HQ country

Vietnam

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. International Maritime Shipping: Primary revenue stream from international maritime shipping services using the company's owned fleet of dry bulk cargo vessels, transporting goods for large industrial customers in Vietnam.
2. Vessel Chartering and Brokerage: Renting, chartering, and brokering ships for customers requiring maritime transport, leveraging a team of experienced experts for consultation and negotiation services.
3. Shipping Agency Services: Provision of shipping agency services as part of broader maritime operations, coordinating vessel operations for domestic and international shipping.
4. Domestic Steel Transportation (Formosa Contract): Since 2017, OSTC has been a contracted transporter of steel for Formosa Ha Tinh Steel on domestic routes from Son Duong port to Saigon, Phu My, Da Nang, Dung Quat, Quy Nhon, Nghi Son, and Hai Phong ports. Also participates in competitive bidding for FHS steel exports to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

OSTC provides domestic and international maritime shipping services using a fleet of dry bulk and general cargo vessels, transporting industrial bulk cargo such as cement, steel, coal, and food products. The company also offers vessel chartering, leasing, and brokerage; ship purchase, sale, and repair services; port exploitation; maritime vocational training; and seafarer supply services to foreign-flagged operators.

Product overview

Northern Shipping Joint-Stock Company (NOSCO), operating as OSTC (Công ty CP Vận tải biển và Thương Mại Phương Đông), is a maritime shipping company offering a portfolio of six core services: sea transportation (domestic and international cargo shipping), ship chartering and brokerage, ship trading and repair, port exploitation, vocational training for maritime professions, and crew supply. The company operates a fleet of five vessels including Hồng Lĩnh (8,216 GRT), Phương Đông 05 (14,431 GRT), Phương Đông 06 (13,706 GRT), Phương Đông 10 (4,219 GRT), and Oriental Glory (36,074 GRT), with a combined total capacity of approximately 121,079 DWT. The company primarily serves industrial clients in cement, steel, and coal sectors, operating on international routes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sea Transportation Service

Quantifiable outcome

• 121,079 DWT total fleet capacity with 4 dry bulk vessels operating internationally
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation (Công ty TNHH Gang Thép Hưng Nghiệp - Formosa Hà Tĩnh)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Since 2017, OSTC has served as a contracted steel transport provider for Formosa Ha Tinh Steel on domestic routes from Son Duong port to Saigon, Phu My, Da Nang, Dung Quat, Quy Nhon, Nghi Son, and Hai Phong ports. OSTC also participates in competitive bidding for FHS steel exports to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, representing a significant and strategic customer relationship.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Diana Shipping Inc. Global dry bulk shipping company operating a fleet of Capesize, Kamsarmax, Panamax, and Ultramax vessels. Comparable in core business model (dry bulk ocean transport) though at much larger scale than OSTC.
• Star Bulk Carriers Corp. Global dry bulk shipping operator with a large fleet of Newcastlemax, Capesize, Kamsarmax, Panamax, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels. Directly comparable in dry bulk ocean freight business, though with substantially greater scale and fleet modernity.
• Gemadept Corporation: Vietnamese listed shipping and logistics company operating ports, container terminals, and feeder/liner services. Comparable to OSTC as a Vietnamese-listed maritime operator serving domestic industrial cargo flows with diversified port-and-shipping exposure.
• Genco Shipping & Trading Limited: US-listed dry bulk shipowner operating a fleet of Capesize, Ultramax, and Supramax vessels transporting iron ore, coal, grain, and other dry bulk commodities globally. Comparable dry bulk business model with similar customer industries.
• Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. US-listed dry bulk shipping company operating a fleet of Supramax/Ultramax vessels focused on minor bulk cargoes. Closely comparable in dry bulk niche focus, though with a more modern, standardized fleet.
• Pacific Basin Shipping Limited: Hong Kong-listed dry bulk shipping operator with a fleet of Handysize and Supramax/Ultramax vessels serving similar industrial cargo trades across Asia-Pacific. Highly comparable business model to OSTC's dry bulk focus on regional industrial customers.
• Vietnam Ocean Shipping Joint Stock Company (VOSCO): Vietnamese state-owned ocean shipping company under VIMC that operates dry bulk and container fleets on international routes. VOSCO is the most direct peer given the shared VIMC parentage, similar Vietnamese industrial client base, and overlapping dry bulk carrier operations.

Broad incumbents

• Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC): State-owned Vietnamese maritime conglomerate and OSTC's parent entity. VIMC operates container shipping, bulk shipping, ports, and shipyards at national scale, dwarfing OSTC but operating in the same Vietnamese maritime services space.
• China Merchants Energy Shipping Co., Ltd. Major Chinese state-linked shipping company operating a large and diversified fleet of dry bulk, container, ro-ro, and tanker vessels. Comparable as a broad Asian maritime incumbent in dry bulk markets, though operating at vastly greater scale.

Regional players

• Vietnam Tanker Corporation (VITACO): Vietnamese state-owned tanker and shipping company under VIMC that operates petroleum and product tankers. Comparable as a Vietnamese maritime operator under the same VIMC group, though focused on tankers rather than dry bulk.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northern-shipping-joint-stock-company-nosco

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Northern Shipping Joint-Stock Company (NOSCO)