(QBĐT) - After nearly 10 years of implementing Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP, dated July 7, 2014 of the Government (Decree 67), many fishing vessels supported by banks for loans to build new vessels under Decree 67 (abbreviated as "67 vessels") are not operating effectively. Many fishermen have become "debtors" of banks with amounts up to billions of VND, leading to many other consequences.
Bank sues to collect debt
From 2018 to present, dozens of fishermen in the province have borrowed money to build "ship 67" to go offshore but have lost the ability to repay the debt and have been sued by the bank in court to collect the debt.
At the end of March 2024, the People's Court of Ba Don Town opened a trial for a credit contract dispute between the plaintiff, the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam - Bac Quang Binh Branch (BIDV Bac Quang Binh) and the defendant, Mr. NXC in Canh Duong Commune (Quang Trach).
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According to credit contract No. 01/2016/8548777/HĐTD, dated May 12, 2016 and documents amending and supplementing the contract, Mr. NXC borrowed more than 16.5 billion VND (term of 192 months) from BIDV Bac Quang Binh to build a new steel-hulled fishing boat for offshore seafood exploitation. To ensure debt repayment obligations, Mr. C. made legal mortgage contracts on his real estate, including: Future assets and land plot No. 62, map sheet No. 8 (area of nearly 120m2 ), located in Canh Duong commune, associated with house ownership rights and other assets attached to the land.
However, during the contract implementation process, Mr. NXC did not properly implement the agreements and commitments, resulting in overdue debt. As of June 2023, the total debt amounted to more than 20 billion VND, of which the principal debt was more than 16.4 billion VND, the interest debt was nearly 3.3 billion VND, and the late payment fee was more than 365 million VND.
After studying the documents and evidence in the case file, the People's Court of Ba Don Town decided that Mr. NXC must pay BIDV Bac Quang Binh a total debt of more than 21 billion VND. In case Mr. NXC cannot pay the debt, the bank has the right to request the civil enforcement agency to handle the mortgaged property, which is land plot No. 62 and a steel-hulled fishing boat.
| According to Pham Anh Dai, Deputy Chief Inspector of the State Bank of Vietnam - Quang Binh Branch, the total amount of capital mobilized by commercial banks to lend for the construction of "ship 67" is more than VND989 billion, of which bad debt is more than VND792 billion. Many banks have filed lawsuits to recover the debt, but the "ship 67" is difficult to auction because the price is too high and there are few buyers. Currently, most banks have had to "handle" it themselves by using risk reserve funds to cover the debts. |
Similarly, at the end of 2022, the People's Court of Bo Trach district also accepted the lawsuit of the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam - Bac Quang Binh Branch (Agribank Bac Quang Binh) and forced Mr. Ng.N. in Nhan Trach commune (Bo Trach) to pay a total amount of more than 7.5 billion VND, of which the principal debt was nearly 6.1 billion VND and the interest debt was more than 1.4 billion VND. Previously, in 2015, Mr. N. borrowed 8 billion VND from this bank to build a new fishing boat according to Decree 67. The loan term is 11 years, the interest rate is 7%/year, of which the interest rate the ship owner must pay is 3%/year, the state subsidized interest rate is 4%/year.
To secure the loan, Mr. N. mortgaged a future asset, a newly built fishing boat. During the loan period, Mr. N. used the loan for the right purpose and fulfilled his obligation to periodically pay the principal and interest of nearly VND 3.7 billion, of which the principal was more than VND 1.8 billion and the interest was more than VND 1.8 billion. However, since 2020, Mr. N. has not fulfilled his payment obligations as committed, leading to the loan being overdue and violating his debt repayment obligations.
Difficult to handle debt
According to the report of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), as of April 2024, the province has deployed the construction of 81 new "67 ships" and 3 ships to replace salvaged ships, 3 upgraded ships (not included in the 85 targets assigned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development). However, after many years of exploitation and use (as of August 2023), only 40 fishing boats are still operating, 27 ships are on shore due to ineffective operation, 4 ships have sunk and cannot be salvaged, 16 ships have been repossessed by banks and auctioned to organizations and individuals.
According to updated data from commercial banks, out of a total of 87 newly built and upgraded ships, 7 ships are regularly overdue for principal and interest payments; 26 ships cannot pay principal and interest; 31 ships are being sued by banks in court; 3 ships have been repossessed by banks and are being auctioned; 16 ships have been repossessed by banks and auctioned; 4 ships have sunk and cannot be salvaged.
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Head of the Fisheries Sub-Department (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) Le Ngoc Linh said that most of the "67 ships" are unable to repay their debts to banks on time due to many reasons, such as: Aquatic resources are increasingly declining; seafood prices are unstable, sometimes "falling in price" while input costs are high; the seafaring profession lacks labor, and some ship owners do not have experience in operating fishing vessels equipped with modern equipment.
In addition, the objective difficulties of previous years, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the Formosa marine environmental incident, have also significantly affected fishermen's fishing and exploitation of aquatic products. Commercial banks also face many difficulties in debt collection, such as: Unable to control the cash flow of profits of ship owners during production activities, some ship owners are actually operating inefficiently, others are still operating effectively but have a procrastination mindset, deliberately not paying debts and hoping to have their debts cleared or extended. Currently, many fishing vessels on shore are degraded, seized by banks or enforcement agencies, and are not regularly maintained, leading to difficulties in debt settlement.
The owner of "ship 67" has to work for hire.
In Bao Ninh commune (Dong Hoi city), everyone knows Mr. T.D.Th., because he used to be a brave fisherman and famous in the sea. Before 2015, he owned a 450CV ship, one of the largest in the commune. At that time, he thought he would only stick with this ship until he retired from sea. Then, Decree 67 was issued. Of the total loan of 11 billion VND to build "ship 67", his family mortgaged the bank to pay and borrowed more than 3.3 billion VND.
| A judge said that, after reviewing the records of these cases, most of the loans to build “ship 67” were too large and “beyond” the fishermen’s ability. Along with the lack of calculation for the debt, the fishermen encountered many objective difficulties, making them unable to repay the bank. For banks, to ensure the safety of the loan, most credit contracts include collateral in the contract, in case the borrower cannot repay the debt. Many fishermen have not only lost their means of livelihood but also had their houses and land auctioned to enforce the judgment. In the coming time, there will be many more cases of continued lawsuits to collect debts. |
In 2015, Mr. Th. was one of the first fishermen in Bao Ninh commune to own a "huge" "ship 67" with a capacity of 814 horsepower. Mr. Th. recalled that the life of a fisherman at sea is closely linked to the life of a ship and boat. The ship is not only a means of earning a living but also a measure of the life of a fisherman. The bigger the ship, the more "skilled" the fisherman is and it is also the "strength" of a person to conquer and overcome the storms of the sea.
However, after more than a year of operating the ship, the Formosa marine environmental incident occurred. Seafood prices dropped, fishermen went offshore and stuck to the sea. Just after escaping the Formosa incident, the Covid-19 pandemic came. After nearly 10 years, his family has paid off 4.1 billion VND in debt, the remaining debt was classified as bad debt by the bank. Recently, he was sued by the bank to collect the debt. With no money to pay the debt, he had to accept the bank "taking back" the ship.
Now, he has to work for a friend's ship because he no longer has the means to stay at sea. His son, who has been with him at sea for so long, has also had to leave the sea to seek a living by working abroad. It is worth noting that Mr. T.D.Th. is not a rare case. Local leaders said that many owners of "ship 67" were experienced fishermen who bravely stayed at sea, but now they have all become hired workers for other ships.
Duong Cong Hop
Source: https://www.baoquangbinh.vn/phap-luat/202407/chat-vat-xu-ly-no-tau-67-2219735/
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