Many night cruise tours in Ha Long and Lan Ha bays canceled due to storm

Lan Ha Bay noon September 5

Mr. Duy Phu, owner of Orchid Cruises with 5 cruise ships operating in Lan Ha Bay, said he had canceled overnight tours for groups departing on September 5, with about 150 passengers. Based on his 40 years of experience and forecast information, Mr. Phu decided to let the cruise ships take shelter early. Groups from September 6 to September 7 were also canceled. The ship owner estimated that about 450 passengers would be lost.

At noon on September 5, Typhoon Yagi reached its strongest speed of 201 km/h, level 16 - super typhoon, the forecasted landing area is from Quang Ninh to Ninh Binh on the afternoon of September 7. At 10:00 a.m., the storm center was in the northern sea area of ​​the North East Sea, about 490 km from Hainan Island (China), according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The Hai Phong Department of Transport today issued a document requiring ship owners to move to their anchorage locations before 12:00 on September 6.

The Mon Cheri cruise ship operating in Lan Ha Bay also returned to shore on September 5 to find a safe haven. The cruise ship's representative commented that the storm's impact "could be very bad" so they should not be complacent.

However, some cruise ships still departed at noon on September 5 because "the storm had not arrived" and there was no ban. Mr. Minh An, the owner of a cruise ship operating in Lan Ha Bay, said his overnight ship had taken 20 passengers to the bay and would return before 12 noon on September 6 as required.

"The bus fare from Hanoi to Ha Long is not cheap, if we cancel we will have to pay," he said, adding that the weather in the bay is still nice and the schedule will not be affected. With more than 10 years of experience in the cruise industry, he said that the weather on September 5 and 6 is "most likely to be fine" and "the impact of the storm will only start from September 7." Mr. Minh An has canceled all tours from September 6 to September 8, returning deposits to customers because most of them are foreigners and do not have much time in Vietnam.

Mr. Pham Tri Tuyen, Head of the Department of Culture, Information, Sports and Tourism of Cat Hai district, said that by 11am, there were about 2,000 visitors on Cat Ba island, Hai Phong. Most of them will return this afternoon.

In Co To, Quang Ninh, as of the morning of September 5, there were 10 tourists left on the island and they will all return to the mainland that afternoon.

A tourist boat carrying passengers on a day tour of Ha Long Bay in the Sung Sot cave area on the morning of September 5.

Meanwhile, passenger boats visiting Ha Long Bay during the day are still operating normally today. Mr. Duy Anh, the boat owner, said it only takes about 30 minutes for the boats to return from the bay to the dock.

Most travel agencies with tours to Ha Long this weekend have announced cancellations or changes to their tours to their customers. Viet Travel Media Joint Stock Company, which has 23 customers from Ho Chi Minh City scheduled to visit Ha Long Bay on September 7, said it will change the Hanoi - Quang Ninh - Sa Pa tour schedule so that customers can visit the bay because it is the highlight of the trip. However, in case of force majeure, the company will have to remove Ha Long Bay from the itinerary, pay compensation or compensate with another destination.

Best Price also has nearly 100 foreign customers who bought a three-day, two-night tour to Ha Long Bay and Lan Ha from September 7 to September 9. The company is currently negotiating with customers to find a solution and will refund money if customers do not have enough time to arrange a change of schedule.

TH (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/huy-nhieu-tour-du-thuyen-dem-tren-vinh-ha-long-lan-ha-vi-bao-392190.html