The Green Bay ship that capsized in Quang Ninh had been in operation for 10 years and had never been converted.

The Green Bay 58 ship was licensed to operate since 2015 and has been transferred to different owners.

The Green Bay 58 ship is still under inspection until February 2026. Photo: Ngoc Duy

Regarding the capsized ship Bay Xanh 58 QN-7105, on July 21, speaking with reporters, Mr. Nguyen Van Thong - Deputy Director of the Port Authority of Waterways and Inland Waterway Vehicles Registration of Quang Ninh province said that the ship Bay Xanh 58 was built in 2014, with the design approved by the Vietnam Register. This is a steel-hulled ship, 20m long, 6m wide, with a main engine capacity of 150CV, and is allowed to carry up to 48 people.

The ship was licensed to operate in 2015. At that time, it was a good quality ship. Since then, the ship has been transferred once but still undergoes full annual inspections.

The ship has undergone 14 inspections and minor repairs, but no modifications. “Overall, the quality of the ship is still good enough to operate,” said Nguyen Van Thong.

According to Mr. Thong, the ship's most recent operating license was issued in January 2025, valid until February 4, 2026.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thong also said that the ship Vinh Xanh 58, like many other ships operating in Ha Long Bay, is only equipped with a GPS positioning system, which operates based on phone signals, so in low-lying areas with low phone signals, the GPS positioning system loses signal.

Due to the “dip” in the phone signal, tourists taking boats to some areas in the middle of Ha Long Bay cannot contact home. Currently, only a few islands near the shore, such as Ti-top, have phone signal towers, but the signal is weak and unstable if far from the tower location due to the mountain ranges blocking it.

In early 2023, Viettel Quang Ninh coordinated with the Ha Long Bay Management Board to develop an Economic - Technical Report on investment in the construction of BTS infrastructure in Ha Long Bay with 6 BTS broadcasting stations in 6 areas in the core area of the bay. These 6 stations are expected to be put into operation from March 2023. However, because Ha Long Bay is a World Natural Heritage, it has not been possible to implement it yet due to the provisions of the Law on Cultural Heritage and many other regulations.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/tau-vinh-xanh-bi-lat-o-quang-ninh-da-hoat-dong-10-nam-chua-tung-hoan-cai-709864.html