VietNamNet Bridge - After more than a year of being abandoned in Hon Mieu, Quang Ninh province, the Speedy Falcon ship of the Oil and Gas Transport Company, a subsidy of the Vietnam Shipping Lines Group (Vinalines), has been dragged to the shore and sold at the price equivalent to one-sixth of the original price and cheaper than the price for scrap.

 

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In early November 2011, the public was interested in the information about "ghost" ships floating in the Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province. One of them is the Speedy Falcon, owned by the Oil and Gas Transport Company (Falcon Shipping). According to the Vietnam Registration Agency, this ship has a tonnage of 64,300 tons, built in 1981 in Japan and now has the Mongolian flag.

The ship was abandoned in Hon Mieu from November 2011. At the end of 2012, the ship was towed to the Pha Rung Shipyard in the northern port city of Hai Phong. Earlier, it was sold to the Vietship Materials and Equipment Company, a subsidiary of the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin).

According to Vietship, they bought the ship at the price of VND70 billion ($3.5 million), compared to the original price of VND420 billion ($20 million) in 2008. With a tonnage of 11,408 tons, the price is equal to VND6 million ($300) per ton, even lower than the price for scrap, which is about VND8.4 - VND8.9 million ($400-420) a ton.

 

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According to an official of a company that specializes in buying and selling old ships in Hai Phong, the value of ships can be reduced by about 20% if they do not work within a year. In addition, the decline of the transport market also somewhat affects the price of ships. "However, VND70 billion for a ship of over 60,000 tons is too cheap," he said.

The Vietship said that the old ship would be sent to the Pha Rung Shipyard for check and repair. But some experts in the maritime industry said that this ship was abandoned for a year so it is difficult to work again. The only way is dismantling it. Meanwhile, this ship, which has been re-named as AMC 03, is 31 years old and has the Mongolian flag. According to the current regulations, this ship does not meet conditions to be dismantled in Vietnam.

Compiled by S. Tung