Tuoi Tre has received an appeal for help from a Vietnamese cargo ship and its 20-member crew being held in a Bangladesh port for the last three months because of a lack of exit license and failure to pay port fees.
Nguyen Van Dung, captain of the Hong Son, which is owned by the Hai Phong-based Quang Truong Trade and Maritime Transport Joint Stock Company, called the newspaper by telephone Monday and sought help.
The ship, which set off from Sai Gon Port to Bangladesh on Sept 5 with 5,800 tons of rice, arrived in Chittagong 11 days later.
On Oct 19 it was ordered by Bangladeshi customs officers to dock at an area meant for “illegal” vessels. Since they do not have visas, the crew have been unable to go ashore and have been forced to live on board with little food or water.
Many of them have fallen ill, some seriously, Dung said.
“We have contacted the ship owner to ask for food, water, and oil but to no avail,” he said.
“We also called the labor agency [that provided the sailors] but they did not reply.”
The ship’s exit license has expired, he said.
Nguyen Van That, Vietnam’s ambassador to Bangladesh, told Tuoi Tre Tuesday that the sailors have not been allowed to go ashore because they do not have visas.
That said when he called his company he was told it faces bankruptcy.
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