The Vietnam Register (VR) has announced that it will postpone periodic inspection of the registration, management quality and safety of Vietnamese sea-going ships running international routes, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Illustrative image (Photo: Internet)

The delay is in compliance with instructions of the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific Region signed in Tokyo in 1993 (Tokyo-MoU). 

Recently, the Tokyo-MoU Secretariat issued a notice guiding the settlement of cases of ships affected by the impact of the pandemic, saying that the maritime transport sector is facing challenges in meeting requirements of the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention and related conventions of the International Maritime Organisation. 

Tokyo-MoU member states agreed to deal with cases of ships impacted by the epidemic, including postponing inspection, but no later than three months. 

According to the VR, Vietnam now has 550 ships running international routes, with a total capacity of 6.14 million tonnes.