After nearly two weeks carrying out law enforcement missions to demand the Chinese withdraw their HD-981 oil drilling rig from Viet Nam’s exclusive economic zone, the Vietnamese coastguard ship CSB 2016 recently docked at the repair yard in Da Nang with many damaged sections.  Dozens of workers from the Song Thu Shipyard Company are busy doing the repairs. 

The ship’s captain, Mr Quan Dinh Duong, said that his ship had been rammed twice by Chinese ships.  On 23 May, a Chinese ship rammed it on the right side of its stern, damaging the stern and breaking 6m of deck railings.  At 4.23pm on 1 June, the Vietnamese ship was rammed again by Chinese marine police ships on its starboard side.  The attacks left four holes which were only 40cm above water level.  The Vietnamese crew members on board used soft pillows to plug the holes and prevent water from spilling into their ship.  They then started to steer the ship to the land for repair.

Here are some photos, taken by reporter An Nhien, which show the damage to the ship.

The damaged coastguard ship CSB 2016

The four holes in the ship’s starboard side, looking from inside …

… and from the outside.

Workers repair the damaged sections

The damaged starboard side of the vessel

The damaged stern