A worker pumps oil from the sunken ship. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Khu

HCM CITY — Hải Vân Shipping - Services Co, Ltd together with Việt Nam Salvage Joint Stock Company, have already pumped about 50 tonnes of oil out of the Vietnamese-flagged container ship VIETSUN INTEGRITY that sank in Cần Giờ District’s Lòng Tàu River at around 1.50am last Saturday.

The ship, carrying about 150 tonnes of oil, is about 132 metres long.

A representative of HCM City’s Port Authority said it would take about 5-7 days to pump all 150 tonnes of oil out of the sunken ship. A small amount of oil has leaked from the vessel. The Hải Vân Shipping – Services Co, Ltd has used three layers of buoys to prevent oil from spreading on the river in order to avoid environmental pollution.

The company has also collected 10 floating containers to take them to shore, the Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) online newspaper reported.

Nguyễn Xuân Sang, head of the Việt Nam Maritime Administration said there was no specific plan to salvage the sunken ship so far.

The specific time for re-opening Đồng Tranh - Lòng Tàu route had not been finalised, he said.

Relevant agencies were gathering to discuss the salvage plan, attempting to re-open the route as soon as possible, he added.

Currently, ships travelling between HCM City – Vũng Tàu will follow Soài Rạp route, Dừa River route or Đồng Tranh - Gò Gia route.

Previously, Minister of Transport Nguyễn Văn Thể asked concerned organisations to collect all floating containers on the river to ensure waterway traffic safety and investigate the case.

The water area between the Đồng Tranh – Lòng Tàu river intersection and Cambodia’s Four Faces River has been restricted to vessels. — VNS