Government directs handling and dismantling of old ships

Old ships anchored for long periods of time affect maritime safety and security in Vietnam's waters.

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The Government Office said that Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has just directed the Ministry of Transport to handle and dismantle old ships that have been anchored for a long time, affecting maritime safety and security in Vietnam's waters.

Accordingly, the Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Transport to preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries and local People's Committees to inspect foreign-flagged ships anchored for long periods in Vietnam and ship owners requesting to be dismantled in Vietnam, and propose handling of each case.

At the same time, the Ministry of Transport shall preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries, branches and agencies to develop regulations on the management of used ship dismantling activities and submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

Currently, there are hundreds of domestic enterprises nationwide that own foreign-flagged ships that are past their useful life but cannot be dismantled due to the mechanism. The owners of these ships have no choice but to “cover up”, let the ships float on the rivers and seas, or some units “boldly” dismantle the illegal ships even though they know they are violating the law.

According to statistics from the maritime port authority, there are currently about 100 foreign-flagged ships owned by Vietnamese shipping enterprises (with a total tonnage of more than 1 million DWT, accounting for 14% of the total tonnage of the Vietnamese fleet) anchored for long periods in the waters of domestic and foreign seaports./.

According to vov.vn - LT