Recently bankrupt Vinashin, subsidiary of Vietnam state operator Vinalines, has sold seven ships in order to pay their crews.
The vessels hitherto being held overseas, amounting to 210,000dwt and 100 stranded sailors, include bulk carriers Sea Eagle, Hoang Son 28 and New Phoenix, as well as general cargo ships New Horizon, Cai Lan 4 and Diamond Way.
Vinalines maintains it is not abandoning its crews, with the dispatch of $19,000 of wages in February. Horror stories abound, however, including crewmen of Sea Eagle claim not to have been paid for 18 months, and there are reports of crew members having to swim ashore to find food.
“It’s hard to sell [the ships] at high prices but they will not be sold lower than the price offered by the valuation council,” said a company spokesman, according to a report by local news provider Vietnamnet. “If the company is bankrupt, completes the sale of ships, the interests of the crews and workers is the top priority.”