On May 6, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Xuan Sang chaired a meeting to assess the response and remediation following an oil spill caused by the ship collision on Long Tau River.
At the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Xuan Sang commended the leadership of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the coordination of relevant forces in addressing the incident.
The ship’s collision caused an oil spill (Photo: NLD).
The Deputy Minister emphasized that Ho Chi Minh City must create a specific response plan for this oil spill incident as well as a plan for environmental remediation.
Regarding response efforts to the oil spill, the Deputy Minister requested that Ho Chi Minh City continue collecting all spilled oil from the two ships, implement response measures during the salvage operation, assess environmental impacts and propose appropriate remediation solutions, and comprehensively evaluate immediate and long-term damages. He also urged the city to promptly initiate the necessary legal procedures related to compensation.
To the Maritime Port Authorities of Ho Chi Minh City, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, and Dong Nai, the Deputy Minister instructed coordination with the local Departments of Agriculture and Environment to inspect for signs of oil spreading from one area to another. If any signs of oil spreading are detected, timely reports must be submitted to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for appropriate direction and handling.
In addition, Ho Chi Minh City must immediately develop a traffic regulation plan in the affected area to facilitate the incident response efforts, avoid channel congestion, ensure smooth navigation, and support salvage operations. Authorities must also guide the ship owners to prepare and submit salvage plans to competent authorities. The Ho Chi Minh City Maritime Port Authority must swiftly investigate the cause of the accident, consider detaining the two ships for further investigation, and determine responsibility for environmental damages, related costs and consequences.