Vietnam Embassy in Thailand works to repatriate crewmembers in distress

The Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand is urgently coordinating with sides involved to support the repatriation of four crew members of the Vietnamese-flagged Huy Hoang ship, which encountered an accident on March 8.

The representative of the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand visits the four crew members of Huy Hoang ship. (Photo: VNA)
The representative of the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand visits the four crew members of Huy Hoang ship. (Photo: VNA)

On March 8, the embassy received a notice by a representative of the Panama-flagged MV Toyo Star cargo ship in Thailand, which informed that the ship hit and caused the Vietnamese seafood logistics vessel to sink earlier the same day when it was on the way to Thailand through Vietnam's waters.

The MV Toyo Star rescued four crew members of the Huy Hoang ship, three of them residing in Vietnam’s Ben Tre province and one in Ca Mau province. The Panama ship arrived at the Kerry Siam port in Thailand’s Chonburi province on the night of the day.

On March 9-10, the embassy sent officials to visit and provide basic necessities for the four citizens at the port, and work with representatives of MV Toyo Star and Chonburi provincial authorities concerning procedures to bring them to the mainland and back home. However the repatriation work is facing difficulties due to Thai regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On the morning of March 10, the MV Toyo Star moved to the Klong Toei port in Bangkok with four Vietnamese crew members onboard and is expected to leave for Indonesia on March 12.

Talking to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Bangkok, Le Trung Kien, first secretary in charge of citizen protection at the embassy, said the embassy has sent a note to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting coordination with relevant local authorities to allow the Vietnamese crew members to come ashore before the cargo ship departs for Indonesia.

Kien said that the embassy will closely coordinate with the Thai immigration authorities to carry out procedures to bring the citizens back to Vietnam.