VietNamNet Bridge - After information about 19 Vietnamese sailors who were abandoned in the UAE was published on local newspapers, a letter asking for help of a 17-member crew of the Thai Son 18 vessel has been sent to the local media from the Philippines.

No money, no food, 19 Vietnamese sailors call for help from UAE



The ship has run out of fuel. Sailors had to use firewood for cooking.
Photo provided by the crew.


In the letter, the crew members said they were hired to work on Thai Son 18, a vessel of the Thai Son Ocean Shipping and Trade Company, based in Thai Binh province. They have worked for five months, but they have not been paid in the last 4 months.

From the Philippines, sailors said they have fallen into a state of starvation because the company has not paid for food. The ship currently has no no medicines nor electricity because it has been out of diesel to run the generator. As a result, the day is hot while the night is dark and they have to cook with wood.

Previously, all 17 crew members received the vessel in Davao, Philippines in early May 2012, from the former crew, to repair the ship. After the repair, the crew pulled anchor and ran to New Port, China to deliver goods. But along the way, the main engine broke and the ship had to anchor at Anchorage Bay in the province of Bataan, the Philippines from early August 2012.

Thai Son 18 has a total tonnage of 5,300 DWT, a length of 97.12 m, a width of 15.6 m. The ship is owned by Thai Son Ocean Shipping and Trade Company. It was put into operation in December 2008. With a total investment of over VND100 billion ($5 million), the ship was built by loans from the Thai Binh Development Bank Branch and built by the Hat Tuong JSC.

"Since then, we have repeatedly sent letters to the company in Vietnam, requiring them to repair the ship, to pay for food, oil, and the remaining salary and to tell us their plan for the ship but the company has not taken any action", the letter of the17-member crew wrote.

The ship is now anchored near an oil refining factory, where ships go in and out the harbor. The situation becomes even more dangerous when the vessel does not have power to light up anchor lamps and run signaling devices.

The crew said it had filed to call for help via email to the Vietnam Maritime Administration and is still awaiting for a  response. The only help that the crew members received came from the International Labor Transport Association (ITF).


The 17 member crew and representatives of the ITF on board of Thai Son 18.
Photo provided by the crew.


The crew’s letter has been transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry has instructed the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines to quickly verify the case and help the crew.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Maritime Department, Mr. Do Duc Tien, said the Department had received an email of the Thai Son 18 crew. "The Department has asked the ship owner to solve the crew’s complaints. The primary responsibility still belongs to the ship owner," Tien said.

In addition, the Department has contacted the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines to work out an assistance plan. The Embassy has available funds for protection of citizens, which will be used to assist the crew in case of emergency, Tien said.

Within a week, two overseas crews sent letters home asking for help. Earlier, 19 sailors of a vessel of the Vietnam Shipping Lines Corporation (Vinalines) said they were abandoned in the UAE for two months, in difficult conditions, without food and water.

The Deputy Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration said the agency had requested Vinalines to urgently supply basic necessities for the crew.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thanh, Vinalines Deputy General Director confirmed with the Vietnam News Agency that the May Diamond Way ship is managed by Vinashinlines, a subsidiary of Vinalines. Due to financial difficulties, the company has not paid the repair charges of May Diamond Way so the ship is kept by the National Shipping Port Agent Service (NSS).

The ship has 19 Vietnamese crew members and has been kept at the port of Jebel Ali (Dubai, UAE) for more than two months. All personal papers and passports of the crew members are held by NSS.

Vinalines has instructed Vinashinlines to cooperate with the Vietnamese Embassy in the UAE to quickly pay debt to NSS to bring the ship and the crew home.

Vinashinlines was established in August 2000, was a company of the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin). In July 2010, it was transferred to the Vietnam Shipping Lines Corporation (Vinalines), when the government carried out the restructuring plan at Vinashin.

Compiled by Le Ha