An explosion on a bulker under repair in Vietnam has injured eight shipyard workers. The accident took place on the 69,000-dwt Oriental Glory (built 1995) on 2 February at the Nosco Shipyard in Hai Phong, according to the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh province.
The Vietnam-flag ship has been docked at the yard for maintenance work since the middle of January.
Cao Tuong Huy, acting chairman of the committee, sent firefighters in to tackle the blaze and organise a rescue of the yard workers.
He also ordered an investigation to be carried out into the cause of the blast.
The bulker is operated by the domestic company Viet Thuan Transport Co, part of Nosco.
The ship’s last port state control detention was in Russia in 2019, when it was held with 26 deficiencies.
Grounds for detention included problems with the watertight conditions of cargo and other hatchways, and pollution prevention relating to oil in machinery spaces.
The ship has since undergone four safety checks in Russia and Indonesia with no problems.
The vessel was the subject of a stunning asset play at the peak of the markets in 2008 when Greek owner AE Nomikos sold it to the Vietnamese owner for $71.5m.
The company had acquired the unit for just $15.1m in 2003.
VesselsValue assesses the Oriental Glory as worth close to $6m now for further trading and $5.5m as a scrap candidate.