Storm shelters with investment of more than 130 billion VND are difficult to be effective

Fishermen struggled to find places to moor their boats.

The Ky Ha storm shelter and fishing logistics service project was invested with 136 billion VND in 2 phases. In which, phase 2 was invested quite systematically with the items of the operating house, 1km long wharf, lighting system, dredging of the harbor, ensuring 600 boats with capacity up to 600 CV to anchor and take shelter in case of storms of level 9 and level 10. Not only that, the project also creates favorable and safe conditions for fishermen each time they go to sea to exploit, forming a fishing logistics service area on shore.

The goal is very large, however, after two years of operation, the current status of the Ky Ha storm shelter and fishing logistics service has revealed many shortcomings. The biggest bottleneck at present is the thick silting of sea sand right at the entrance of the shelter. This causes countless obstacles for ships wanting to go out to sea or dock, and can only operate when the tide is high. Large-capacity ships are almost unable to enter the anchorage area.

Large capacity ships have to anchor far away.

Mr. Nguyen Van Canh, a fisherman in Hai Ninh ward, said: "After each fishing trip, the most worrying thing is docking, because the port entrance is almost always silted up, boats are always stranded. In the middle of the port there are many rocks, if you are careless you can break the propeller or rudder, the damage will be huge."

There were times when the tide was rising, but it was noted that at the Ky Ha storm shelter and fishing logistics service, there were many boats, especially large-capacity boats, that had to anchor hundreds of meters from shore. Fishermen said that finding a place to anchor during the times of shelter was very difficult, if not careful, they would run aground and be tossed by the waves, and could even sink.

Mr. Tran Van An, resident of Hai Ninh ward, shared: “The fishing industry is very difficult at this time, the fishing grounds are scarce, we have to go far out to sea to catch shrimp and fish. However, when we return to shore, we cannot reach the port to sell seafood because we are stranded. In addition to the damage to the shell and propeller, there is also the risk of not being able to bring the fish to shore to sell, so the fish will spoil and lose value. If we want to continue going out to sea, we have to wait for the tide, which is time-consuming and costly.”

The silting up of the seaport has caused many losses to fishermen, but even more dangerous are the times when they return to take shelter from storms. There are boats that have run aground right at the seaport, unable to return, and the risk of accidents is very high. In fact, there have been boats that have been sunk by the waves.

Border guards encourage fishermen to stay at sea.

Captain Nguyen Viet Loi - Head of the Mass Mobilization Team, Ky Khang Border Guard Station said: “Rescue work for the border guards in the Ky Ha storm shelter area is very difficult. There are times when storms occur, people's boats run aground outside the estuary, which is very dangerous, but to mobilize boats or use canoes to rescue them, they run aground, wasting time. While the waves are big and the wind is strong, if not careful, it will also be dangerous for the soldiers. Besides, due to obstacles in traveling in the shelter area, propaganda work to mobilize fishermen to tie up and bring boats to shelter also faces certain difficulties."

The silting of the lock has turned the storm shelter into a high-risk area, causing difficulties even for rescue teams. This reflects the lack of sustainability of the project. If not remedied, Ky Ha lock will put fishermen in more danger when storms come, forcing them to risk anchoring offshore, threatening the safety of fishermen's lives and property.