Search for two missing crew members of sunken ship stopped

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of July 25, due to the impact of storm No. 4, rescue forces stopped searching for two missing crew members in the VTB 26 ship that capsized and sank more than a week ago. Rescue and relief ships have now been dispatched to anchorage to avoid the storm.

Rescue ships have now stopped searching and are looking for a place to avoid the storm. Photo: Tien Hung

Regarding responsibility for the ship sinking, Mr. Vuong Binh Minh, Director of Nghe An Maritime Port Authority, said that the unit has just sent a detailed report to the Vietnam Maritime Administration.

According to Mr. Minh, on the afternoon of July 10, the unit received notice that the ship VTB 26, with a capacity of over 5,100 tons carrying 4,700 tons of coal from Quang Ninh to Cua Lo port, had arrived at the Ben Thuy Agency port. The port authority then allowed the ship to anchor near Ngu island to await plans.

“Normally, when the ship is close to the port, the ship owner will base on the buyer's needs to plan the delivery of goods. At the same time, the ship owner will work with the port to arrange the time, wharf, loading and unloading equipment, warehouse... Based on that situation, the two sides will come up with a common plan and only need to notify the port authority representative to be able to let the ship enter the port to deliver the goods,” said Mr. Minh. However, this ship was anchored nearly 3 nautical miles from the port for 5 days but had no plan to enter the port to deliver the goods.

Divers join the search for missing crew members after the ship sank. Photo. PV.

On July 15, the port authority received a telegram about the development of the tropical depression from the Vietnam Maritime Administration. The port authority immediately issued a notice requesting 47 ships and vehicles operating and anchored in Nghe An waters to urgently move to a storm shelter.

One day later, when the storm was about to make landfall in Nghe An, the port authority continued to issue a notice to seaport businesses, ship owners, captains... requesting immediate implementation of storm prevention work and relocation of vessels to safe places. For ships that were slow to relocate, the port authority on duty contacted the captains and agents of the ships directly to request orders for the ships to urgently move to storm shelter areas, such as Hon Me, Quang Ninh, Da Nang... However, the captain of VTB 26 did not comply.

“We knew they wouldn’t move, but there was nothing we could do. Because the wind was so strong, our vehicles couldn’t get there to chase them away,” said Mr. Minh, who said that the captain of the VTB 26 might have been complacent about storm number 2.

Currently, rescuers have found 7 survivors and 4 bodies of crew members. Photo: Tien Hung

Earlier, in the early morning of July 17, the VTB 26 ship was anchored near Ngu Island when the storm broke the anchor rope. The ship quickly sank, many people fell into the sea. So far, 7 crew members have been rescued and brought safely to shore. Rescue forces also found 4 crew members' bodies. The two remaining missing crew members are Nguyen Van Chieu (29 years old, deck officer) and Nguyen Hai Quyet (26 years old, sailor), both from Hai Phong./.

Tien Hung