"Riding the waves, overcoming the wind" brings the warmth of the mainland to DKI platform

Kinhtedothi - After traversing hundreds of nautical miles, enduring countless hardships and difficulties of rough seas and strong winds, the Task Force No. 2 of the Command of Naval Region 2, along with the officers and soldiers on board the Truong Sa 21 ship, erupted with joy upon completing their mission: delivering Tet gifts to the DKI offshore platforms.

The ship has a special mission.

Unlike previous voyages, this time the officers and soldiers of the Truong Sa 21 ship received a special mission: to transport the second working group of the Command of Naval Region 2, along with reporters from newspapers and television stations, to visit and extend New Year greetings to the officers and soldiers on the DKI offshore platforms on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2025.

Lieutenant Colonel Trieu Thanh Tung - Deputy Chief of Staff of the Naval Region 2 Command, Head of the working group of the Truong Sa 21 ship, receives his assignment before the ship's departure at the pier on January 1, 2025 - Photo: Van Ha

Departing from the port (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) on the morning of January 1, 2025, the delegation was tasked with bringing goods, necessities, Tet gifts, and simple presents from the mainland, all with affection and faith, to the soldiers on the front lines of the Fatherland.

When bidding farewell to the delegation, Colonel Tran Manh Chien, Political Commissar of the 2nd Naval Region Command, noted the challenges of carrying out the mission over extended periods at sea in unfavorable weather conditions: "The 2nd Naval Region Command requests that the delegation on board uphold their responsibility, work together to overcome difficulties, and deliver Tet gifts to officers and soldiers on the front lines with absolute safety," said Colonel Tran Manh Chien.

Following that order, the officers and soldiers in the task force made tireless efforts, tearing through the darkness, "riding the waves and braving the wind" to bring the ship carrying the essence of spring from the mainland to the DKI offshore platforms in the distant sea, the frontline outpost of the Fatherland.

When the weather is favorable, the goods are packed, loaded onto boats, and transported to the offshore platform - Photo: Van Ha

After two consecutive days and nights at sea, still feeling drowsy from seasickness, we suddenly heard everyone shouting: "Dolphins, dolphins!" Everything came alive, and everyone rushed out to watch the dolphins leaping and jumping to greet the ship. And our first stop for New Year's greetings appeared majestically on the sea – the DKI/9 platform (part of the Ba Kè cluster). Seeing the DKI platform in person for the first time, we were overwhelmed with joy and excitement; all the fatigue from the long journey suddenly vanished.

Moments of suspense

During this trip, the delegation was tasked with inspecting combat readiness and delivering Tet (Lunar New Year) gifts from the Ministry of National Defence , the Navy, the Command of Naval Region 2, civilian and party agencies, businesses, and local people to officers and soldiers at the Ba Ke, Phuc Tan, and Phuc Nguyen offshore platforms. The items and necessities, according to the Ministry of National Defence's Tet standards, included: pork, chicken, sticky rice, banana leaves, mung beans, apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, kumquats, jam, and confectionery.

Kumquat trees for Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) were transported to the DKI platform by the Truong Sa 21 ship, shortening the distance from the mainland - Photo: Van Ha

During their 16-day mission, the delegation encountered many days of rough seas with high waves and strong winds, making the delivery of goods and New Year's greetings to the offshore platforms extremely difficult. Amidst the turbulent waves that rocked the ship and lashed against their faces, the soldiers remained highly focused and persistently determined to deliver all the goods and New Year's gifts to the platforms safely and on time.

Witnessing the sweat mixing with seawater soaking the faces and clothes of the officers and soldiers, we couldn't help but feel nervous and anxious. In the vast ocean, the ship sometimes rode the waves, at other times seemed to be swallowed up by the waves, disappearing from sight only to reappear. Each trip delivering supplies to the offshore platform was filled with anxious anticipation for the members of the task force, only breathing a sigh of relief when each package was successfully hoisted onto the platform, the boat returned to the ship, and the boat crew safely boarded.

From the command center, officers of the Truong Sa 21 ship and the working group closely monitored every movement during the process of securing and transferring cargo to the platform to ensure absolute safety - Photo: Van Ha

To carry out the task of transporting goods and Tet gifts to the offshore platform, from the command post, Lieutenant Colonel Trieu Thanh Tung - Deputy Chief of Staff of the 2nd Naval Region Command, Head of the Truong Sa 21 ship's task force - closely monitored every action of the soldiers, from securing the goods to transferring them to the boats... Each command was concise and decisive.

Suddenly, Lieutenant Colonel Trieu Thanh Tung shouted, "The rope's broken!" Everyone fell silent, as it meant the operation would have to be restarted from the beginning. Lunch that day was later and quieter than usual; everyone was exhausted and worried about not having managed to deliver the supplies to the platform. Another option was to have the patrol ship deliver the supplies to the platform later, ensuring safety. However, unwilling to let the officers and soldiers on the platform celebrate the Lunar New Year late, the head of the delegation decided to anchor the ship and wait until the wind subsided.

In rough seas and strong winds where it's impossible to transfer goods via boat or pulley, transferring goods from the ship to the platform via a connecting rope is very difficult - Video : Van Ha

Overwhelmed with happiness

After two days of waiting, the storm subsided a little, and the task force persevered, striving to deliver the Tet (Lunar New Year) supplies to the DKI/17 platform. When the usual methods of transporting goods by boat or pulley system proved impossible, the last resort was to divide the goods into smaller waterproof plastic bags and tie them to ropes.

From the platform, a rope was tied to a buoy and lowered into the sea. After much effort, the ship finally managed to connect the cargo rope to the platform's rope. The distance between the platform and the ship was only a few hundred meters, but the officers and soldiers on the platform had to strain themselves to pull the cargo through the roaring, turbulent waves. Only when the cargo was successfully transferred to the platform did the soldiers on the Truong Sa 21 ship breathe a sigh of relief.

Sharing his feelings after completing the delivery of Tet goods to the offshore platform, Lieutenant Nguyen Minh Quang, Deputy Captain of the Truong Sa 21 ship, said that when assigned the task and instructed by superiors, the entire boat crew was determined to deliver the goods to the offshore platform.

First Lieutenant Nguyen Minh Quang, Deputy Captain of the Truong Sa 21 ship - Photo: Van Ha

"The delivery process was very difficult due to rough seas and strong winds. Although the team was worried, they still persevered. When we finally got the goods aboard, we felt happy and relieved to have delivered gifts to the soldiers on the offshore platform," Lieutenant Nguyen Minh Quang expressed.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Trieu Thanh Tung, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Naval Region 2 Command and Head of the working group on the Truong Sa 21 ship, shared that to ensure the progress and standards of Tet gifts for officers and soldiers on the offshore platforms, preparations at the dock as well as the receiving of goods were organized seriously; the plans for receiving goods were meticulously calculated, specific to each platform, and flexible depending on the weather conditions to ensure full and timely delivery.

"To ensure that officers and soldiers stationed at the front lines, the Fatherland's frontier, can celebrate the Lunar New Year far from home with a full and warm holiday, the delegation is determined to complete the mission to the best of its ability, no matter how difficult. We successfully organized the trip, bringing the spirit of Tet from the mainland to the officers and soldiers at the offshore platforms," ​​said Lieutenant Colonel Trieu Thanh Tung enthusiastically.

(To be continued)

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/mua-xuan-tren-vung-bien-tien-tieu-bai-1-cuoi-song-vuot-gio-mang-hoi-am-dat-lien-den-voi-nha-gian-dki.html