The ship that capsized in Nghe An once sank in the Truong Sa sea.

(Baonghean.vn) - Previously, the VTB 26 ship sank in the Truong Sa sea area, the ship owner had to hire a salvage team that cost more than 20 billion VND.

On the afternoon of July 21, only 14 vessels were still searching for the missing crew members of the VTB 26. The search area was limited from the sea south of Lach Quen port to the north of Cua Sot (Ha Tinh). After 5 days of rescue, there are still 2 missing people, including Nguyen Van Chieu - deck officer and Nguyen Hai Quyet - OS sailor, both from Hai Phong.

Rescue ships are searching near Ngu Island. Photo: TH

Regarding the salvage plan, Mr. Vuong Dinh Minh, Director of Nghe An Port Authority, said that it will take more time and procedures. First, we have to wait for the ship owner and the insurance company to agree on the compensation amount. Once agreed, the ship owner and the insurance company will find and sign a contract with a contractor with legal status, responsible for salvaging the ship. After that, the parties will develop a salvage plan, submit it to the competent authority for approval before proceeding. The salvage plan must ensure safety and not affect the environment. Nghe An Maritime Port Authority is responsible for supervising the salvage.

The VTB 26 ship, owned by the Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank, is currently leased to a private company in An Hai, Hai Phong. Colonel Tran Hai Binh, Commander of the Nghe An Border Guard, said the ship had sunk once before. “The ship owner said that it had sunk in the Truong Sa waters before. They then had to hire a salvage vehicle and tow it back to shore for repairs, costing more than VND20 billion,” said Colonel Binh.

To salvage the ship, the ship owner and related parties will have to have a plan to ensure safety and not affect the environment. Photo: PV.

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 Ngu Island. 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 from 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 inside the ship, they could not mobilize divers to search because of the big waves at the time. 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.

Because some of the remaining tunnels and compartments were buried in mud and coal, the water was murky and divers could no longer access it. The rescue team decided to stop searching by divers.

Tien Hung