Vietnam plans to train 39,000 maritime officers and crew members to meet local and export demands, said the Chairman of Vietnam's Captains Club.

With a coastline of 3,260 km and a population of nearly 90 million people, Vietnam is considered to be in an ideal position for maritime transport, Chairman Tieu Van Kinh said.

Kinh said the promotion of maritime transport will speed up economic development throughout the country when the marine economy was regarded as a major force in the national economy.

The Department of Overseas Labour said Vietnam had been hiring out its seamen overseas since 1992.

Forty local companies had sent more than 18,000 crew members to work on vessels owned by Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and mainland Chinese companies.

Vietnam also sends many crew members to work on foreign fishing vessels where they can earn between 250 to 600 USD a month.

The local labour export association said foreign shipping companies had high demand for Vietnamese, but the nation could only supply 30 to 50 percent of the demand. Many of the overseas workers joined fishing vessels.

The Vietnam Maritime Administration said that from 2010 to 2015, the country could train about 4,800-5,000 maritime officers and 8,000-8,500 crew members.-VNA