Sand dredging rescues thousand-ton ship stranded in Cua Lo

(Baonghean.vn) - Nghe An Maritime Port Authority is pumping sand from inside the Thai Ha 26 transport ship to rescue it, and is also installing buoys to prevent the oil from spreading.

On the morning of July 22, Nghe An Maritime Port Authority is mobilizing people and equipment to dredge sand from inside the Thai Ha 26 ship, which is stranded at Cua Lo beach. This is one of four large tonnage ships that ran aground at Cua Lo beach and Lam river due to storm No. 2 5 days ago.

Thousand-ton ship runs aground at Cua Lo beach. Photo: Tien Hung

According to Mr. Vo Van Hung - Vice Chairman of Cua Lo Town People's Committee, at noon on July 18, the town's officials coordinated with the provincial Department of Environmental Protection to directly go to the area where the ships were in distress.

“When we inspected the Thai Ha 26, we discovered an oil spill. This ship has a tonnage of over a thousand tons, and there was no cargo on board at the time, but there was over 10,000 liters of oil in the engine compartment. We were concerned that the oil from the compartment would spill into the sea and cause pollution, so we urgently reported it to the province and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment,” Mr. Hung said.

Close-up of the stranded Thai Ha 26 ship. Photo: Tien Hung

At this time, Cua Lo town also proposed that the ship owner hire a vehicle to suck all the oil remaining inside the engine compartment and remove it from the beach area.

A working group from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment later arrived and used buoys to contain the oil spills. “The working group determined that the oil spills were only oil spilled from the engine, not from the 10,000 liters in the hold. Since then, there have been no more oil spills from the ship,” Mr. Hung added.

Tien Hung