Plan to salvage sunken ship VTB 26 in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn) - Before the salvage, the diving team locked the oil valves and set up buoys to avoid the risk of thousands of liters of oil spilling into the sea.

On July 24, Mr. Vuong Binh Minh, Director of Nghe An Maritime Port Authority, said that the owner of the VTB 26 ship had found a contractor to come up with a plan to salvage the ship in distress. “The ship owner, insurer and contractor have just met with us to discuss a salvage plan that ensures safety while not causing environmental pollution,” Mr. Minh said, adding that the salvage is expected to be carried out after storm No. 4, which is at risk of making landfall in Nghe An in the next few days.

According to Mr. Minh, the VTB 26 is currently carrying more than 10,000 liters of oil. To avoid the risk of oil spillage, divers have closed all valves and set up buoys around the sunken area. Meanwhile, many rescue ships are still trying to find the remaining two missing crew members.

The VTB 26 ship is currently being planned for salvage. Photo.PV.

Regarding the four thousand-ton ships stranded after storm No. 2, the head of Nghe An Maritime Port Authority said that the Thai Ha 26 ship had just been rescued from Cua Lo beach. Previously, the Viet Dung 36 ship had also been towed out after running aground on Lam River. These ships were rescued by using barges to suck up sand at the stranded location. As for the Thai Ha 26 ship, after being towed back to Cua Hoi beach, the authorities requested the ship owner to be responsible for restoring the sea sand to the area where the ship ran aground, ensuring the safety of tourists.

Thai Ha 26 ship was rescued by dredging sand. 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.

About 600 people from many forces participated in the rescue over the past 5 days. After the ship sank, although the rescue team determined that some people were still trapped in the ship, they could not mobilize divers to search because the waves were big and the water in this area was murky, obstructing visibility. On the third day of the search, when the divers entered the scene, a body was found trapped in a cabin on the 2nd floor. A day later, the team discovered another body buried in mud in a cabin on the 2nd floor.

Tien Hung