Authorities in Ha Long City are facing troubles as a fleet of nine tugs and three barges built by the troubled state-owned Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) have been left unused for years and now pose an environmental threat to Ha Long Bay.

Vinashin rusty boats are posing threats to the environment to Ha Long Bay

Lash Vinashin Transportation Company, a member of the Vinashin Ocean Transport Company, borrowed hundreds of billions of VND to build the barges and tugs.

However, Lash Vinashin had halted operations in 2008 and the fleet have since been left unused. In 2010, Vinashin fell into a crisis owing millions of dollars in debt.

Then in 2012, Vinashin’s executives were prosecuted for losses of more than USD43 million, most of which came from the illegal procurement of an Italian-made high-speed passenger vessel and two electric generators.

Hundreds of billions of VND wasted

The boats and barges have since sat abandoned. They now pose an environmental threat and are worsening the landscape of the UNESCO-recognised world heritage site.

Hoang Quang Hai, vice chairman of Ha Long City, said they asked Lash Vinashin to relocate the boats several times. The company said they would move them but never realised their promise.

The deteriorating fleet is an environmental threat to Ha Long Bay

In 2013, Lash Vinashin said because of financial difficulty, they had to sell the boats and did not have budget to move them elsewhere. They asked for the boats to stay in the bay while their value were assessed.

But as no action was taken, the authorities of Ha Long City planned to move the boats themselves on January 6, 2014. However, the decision faced complaints from the public who said the funding of the move should come from Lash Vinashin.

Dtinews