The border guard force of the central province of Nghe An has detained a ship found to have discharged suspect toxic waste into the sea.

At around 7pm on September 8, local residents informed the border guard force of a vessel which was moving from the direction of Nghi Son Port in Thanh Hoa Province to the area between Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces. The vessel discharged what seemed to be hazardous waste into the sea area.

 

The vessel detained for discharging waste into sea

After receiving the information, four guards were sent to the area. More than an hour later, the taskforce approached and detained the vessel, and the three crew, including one woman.

Boat owner Huynh Sam Ral, 35, from Hon Dat District in the southern province of Kien Giang was held, while the others failed to show their personal papers.

At that time, the guards found two holds with waste still on board, while the waste in the ten other tanks had already been discharged.

The remaining waste on the vessel

According to the ship owner Huynh Sam Ral, they were workers from Hiep Thanh Ltd. Co. headquartered in HCM City, while the waste was mud from Nghi Son Iron and Steel International General Terminal.

Bach Hung Tu, deputy head from Nghe An Province's environmental protection board, said that samples of waste had been taken for being tested.