Environmental impact minimal as cargo ship sinks off central Vietnam

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The risks of an oil spill and fly ash spreading from the ship are small.

According to Binh Thuan provincial authorities, Bach Dang cargo ship with a tonnage of 2,560 tons was carrying 1,500 tons of fly ash when it sank half a nautical mile away from Mui Ne on March 14’s night. All seven people on board were rescued from the ship.

The fly ash belongs to Vinh Tan Thermal Power Plant and was being carried from Vinh Tan International Port to Vung Tau Province. However, the Vietnam Environment Administration revealed that, the risks of an oil spill and fly ash spreading from the ship are small.

Nguyen Hung Thinh, deputy head of the Vietnam Environment Administration, in his report to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said that the fly ash was stored in a specialized container and would not have a great impact on the environment.

There are about 2,000 liters of diesel oil on the ship and the crew had locked all the valves before leaving the ship, he added. The locality authorities proposed to pump the oil out of the vessel.

According to Thinh, they have detected some oil on the water. That means the oil in the engine tank might have leaked out when the ship capsized. The amount of oil was small and can be dealt with.