Start salvaging ship VTB 26, searching for two missing crew members

(Baonghean.vn) - The contractor expects it will take about 15 days to complete the salvage of the VTB 26 ship at a total cost of 4.5 billion VND.

On the morning of August 10, Mr. Vuong Binh Minh, Director of Nghe An Maritime Port Authority chaired a meeting to discuss the plan to salvage the VTB 26 ship that sank in Cua Lo waters during storm No. 2. Attending the meeting were representatives of the Provincial Border Guard, leaders of Cua Lo Town, ship owner, insurer, contractor responsible for the salvage, relatives of the two missing crew members and a number of relevant agencies.

Mr. Vuong Binh Minh chaired the meeting. Photo: Tien Hung.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thu, Deputy Director of Minh Thu Company Limited, if there are no unusual incidents, it will take about 15 days to complete the work with a total estimated cost of 4.5 billion VND. “Many vehicles will participate in the salvage, including 5 barges, 1 barge will be used to carry salvage equipment, the remaining 4 will be equipped with A-frame cranes weighing from 150 to 250 tons. In addition, there will be oil spill response vehicles, air compressors, motorboats, tugboats, etc.”, said the leader of the company hired to do the salvage.

Before salvage, this force will drop booms to prevent oil spills during construction. Then, they will send divers to handle the ship's holes. Re-check and close all fuel tank valves and vents.

Since the two missing crew members are suspected to be still trapped on the ship, the salvage team will then use a sand and gravel vacuum to search for the missing people. After vacuuming the gravel, they will continue to send divers into the cabins on floors 1, 2, and 3 to search for the two crew members.

Relatives of the crew members still missing in the shipwreck. Photo: Tien Hung.

“The salvage unit must focus on the environment, especially proactively responding to oil spills because the ship is estimated to contain more than 10,000 liters of oil. The salvage work must be carried out today,” said Mr. Vuong Binh Minh, asking relevant units to create favorable conditions for the construction unit to complete the salvage work on schedule.

After completing the search for the missing people, the salvage team will use barges to turn the ship over, then raise the bow and use high-capacity water pumps to float the ship. After the salvage is completed, the ship will be towed to Hai Phong and handed over to the ship owner. At the same time, the construction will restore the surface that was concave due to the cargo on the ship falling into the sea or due to the construction process to search for and rescue the missing people, causing the seabed to be dented.

VTB 26 ship sank in Cua Lo sea area. Photo: Tien Hung.

Previously, at around 2am on July 17, the VTB 26 ship carrying 4,700 tons of coal sent a distress signal while anchoring to avoid the storm at Hon Ngu Island (Nghe An). The ship then capsized, many crew members fell into the sea. On the first day of rescue, 7 crew members were rescued along with 2 other bodies. The remaining 4 people are missing. The ship sank about 3 nautical miles from shore, about 800m north of Hon Ngu Island. This area is about 10m deep.

After the ship sank, although rescuers determined that some people were still trapped inside the ship, they could not mobilize divers to search because the waves were big and the water in the area was murky, obscuring visibility.

To date, two victims are still missing, Nguyen Van Chieu (29 years old, deck officer) and Nguyen Hai Quyet (26 years old, sailor), both from Hai Phong. The VTB 26 ship is nearly 100 meters long, more than 15 meters wide, and has a tonnage of nearly 6,000 tons.

Tien Hung