The government has finally given the go-ahead for the plan to sell a fleet of seven ill-fated vessels after a long period of consideration, the Ministry of Transport said on Wednesday.

The seven ships, with a combined loading capacity of 210,089 DWT, which accounts for 3 percent of the national cargo fleet total, are either being held over debts or docked dormant in overseas ports. DWT, or deadweight tonnage, is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry.

The ships belong to debt-ridden Vinashinlines, a subsidiary of the Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines),

The vessels that are being held overseas include the Cai Lan 4, which is in India for fuel debt; the New Horizon (seized in Pakistan); and the infamous Hoa Sen (Lotus), which was held over a commercial dispute in China.

The four inactive vessels are the Hoang Son 28 (docked in India), the Diamond Way (UAE), and the New Phoenix and the Sea Eagles (both in China).

The Cai Lan 4 was built in Vietnam in 2006, while the Hoa Sen was bought as a second-handed ship from an Italian company in 2007. The remaining vessels were all built between 1980 and 1988. Most of the ships were built or bought at enormous expense, but they have repeatedly encountered problems and have thus failed to recoup investment.

The transport ministry should find buyers for these ships by June, the government requested.

Miserable crews

Besides the huge fuel debts, all of the ships currently have no fuel, food, or fresh water left for their crews.

Crewmen on the New Phoenix have not received any wages for the last 11 months, and currently have to drink water melted from ice. They have to live in misery as the ship’s owner has failed to pay their wages and buy fuel to resume operations.

The transport ministry said they have used part of the VND200 billion government aid package to transfer money, food, and water to help the crewmen survive until the end of this month.

Vinalines said it has negotiated with the ships’ creditors, as well as worked with several potential buyers.

However, with most of the vessels currently incurring huge debts, whether the vessels can be sold now depends on the creditors.