Ex-chairman and former head of the Vietnam Maritime Administration Duong Chi Dung and ex-CEO Mai Van Phuc will be executed for siphoning off money from the purchase of a drydock.
Vietnamese media said Dung, 56, also received a 28-year sentence for violating state regulations on economic management.
Phuc, also 56, was handed an 18-year term for the same offence.
The central charge is that the Vinalines bosses bought a floating dock for $9m in 2008, causing a loss of VND 366bn ($17.26m).
