The owners of the vessels still don’t know what to do with them, and are waiting for permission from appropriate agencies to demolish them and sell them for money as scrap iron.


However, maritime experts pointed out that it would be a waste to sell ships as scrap iron, as they still can be useful if they are turned into amusement parks or floating hotels. They can also be used as museums or upgraded to serve as jails on the sea.

Some scientists have suggested turning the dead ships into fishing logistics bases for fishermen or mobile floating islands. Sinking the ships, which the Philippines did in the past to maintain a sandbar, is another option.

Engineer Nguyen Khac Hien, former director of the Vinashin Ship Consultancy and Designing Company, and now advisor to the Vietnam- ROK Shipbuilding Company, said that sinking the ships is a good idea.

Hien said that selling ships as scrap iron is only a last resort for countries with a developed shipbuilding industry.

“When a ship is sold for scrap iron, not only the hull, but all the machines and equipment in it will turn into waste,” he said. “Will it cost $1 per kilo? Meanwhile the buyer might have to pay at least $100 per horsepower. I believe that this is the best solution to sink the ships at Vietnam’s sandbars. I have prepared a plan for this. The problem is that we’ll need to get a permission to do it,” he said.

Hien said that there will be no technical difficulty in implementing the plan. Vinashin’s LASH (lighter aboard ship) can be used to carry sand to the targeted sandbars, where they will be sunk after the water goes down.

“This is quite a simple work,” he said.

As for other ships, Hien believes they could be upgraded into military vessels. Hoa Sen Ship, for example, has a large hold capable of containing many vehicles. The ship can be used to carry heavy equipment such as tanks and armored vehicles.

If Vietnam buys heavy equipment from Russia, but cannot transport them by land or by air through Chinese territory, then the upgraded ship would be helpful because it can travel in international waters and safely return to Vietnam.

Another expert, when asked about Hoa Sen, said he had heard that Vinashin had used Hoa Sen to carry container vehicles from the north to the south.

“If a ship can carry containers weighing more than 20 tons, I believe that it will be able to carry tanks and warplanes,” he said, adding that the work is within the reach of Vietnamese engineers.