Plans are being made to salvage the sunken VTB 26 vessel off Nghe An province.

(Baonghean.vn) - Before salvaging the oil, the diving team closed the oil valves and surrounded the area with buoys to prevent thousands of liters of oil from spilling into the sea.

On July 24th, Mr. Vuong Binh Minh, Director of the Nghe An Maritime Port Authority, stated that the owner of the VTB 26 vessel had found a contractor to develop a plan for salvaging the damaged ship. “The ship owner, the insurance company, and the contractor have just met with us to discuss a salvage plan that ensures safety while minimizing environmental pollution,” Mr. Minh said, adding that the salvage operation is expected to begin after Typhoon No. 4, which is threatening to hit Nghe An in the coming days.

According to Mr. Minh, the VTB 26 vessel currently contains over 10,000 liters of oil. To prevent an oil spill, divers have gone down to tightly close all valves and surrounded the area where the ship is sinking with buoys. Meanwhile, numerous rescue vessels are still searching for the two remaining missing crew members.

Plans are currently being made to salvage the VTB 26 vessel. Photo: PV.

Regarding the four thousand-ton cargo ships that ran aground after Typhoon No. 2, the head of the Nghe An Maritime Port Authority said that the Thai Ha 26 ship has just been rescued from Cua Lo beach. Previously, the Viet Dung 36 ship was also towed out after running aground in the Lam River. These ships were rescued by using barges to dredge sand from the grounding locations. As for the Thai Ha 26, after being towed to Cua Hoi beach, authorities requested the ship owner to be responsible for restoring the beach with sand in the area where the ship ran aground, ensuring the safety of tourists.

The Thai Ha 26 vessel was rescued by dredging sand. Photo: Tien Hung.

Earlier, at around 2:00 AM on July 17th, the VTB 26 vessel, carrying 4,700 tons of coal, sent out a distress signal while anchored to avoid a storm near Hon Ngu Island (Nghe An province). The ship subsequently capsized, and many crew members fell into the sea. On the first day of rescue efforts, 7 crew members were rescued alive along with 2 bodies. The remaining 4 are missing. The ship sank about 3 nautical miles from the shore, approximately 800 meters north of Hon Ngu Island. The area has a depth of about 10 meters.

Approximately 600 people from various forces participated in the rescue operation over the past five days. After the ship sank, although rescue forces believed some people were still trapped inside, they were unable to deploy divers due to high waves and murky water, which obscured visibility. On the third day of the search, when the diving team finally arrived, a body trapped in a second-floor cabin was found. A day later, the team discovered another body buried in mud in a second-floor compartment.

Tien Hung