Ferry trips to Hai Minh island

1. "3 no" ferry trips

In March, the weather in Quy Nhon is unpredictable, sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy, but the boatmen at Ham Tu - Hai Minh wharf still wait patiently for passengers. Just a small wharf located in the heart of Quy Nhon fishing port, there are more than a dozen boats lined up waiting for their turn to "get on board" and take passengers across the sea to the village.

Hai Minh Peninsula has one side leaning against the mountain, one side facing the sea, economic life faces many difficulties.

On the boat with the registration number BD-0486H, Mr. Do Ngoc Vu (area 9, Hai Cang ward), a member of the boat crew, stepped out with his skin darkened by the sun after days of drifting at sea. At the age of half a lifetime, Mr. Vu no longer has the strength to compete with the hustle and bustle of life. Every day, he just sits at the wharf waiting for customers, earning extra money to take care of his family. According to this man, in Hai Minh, he can do nothing but work at sea. "Behind Hai Minh is the mountain, in front is the sea, there is no land fund, the economy is limited, so now besides being friends with the sea, I can do nothing else," he pointed forward.

Opening the handlebar cup he brought with him, Mr. Vu took a sip of bitter tea. Taking a deep breath, he said that when he was young, he followed the young men in the village to the sea to make a living by fishing near the shore. Over time, the source of seafood near the shore gradually depleted. Using the money he had saved from years of fishing, he bought an old boat from a local and then changed his job from fishing to driving a boat across the sea. Every day, he waited at this wharf to pick up children from school, and to take people back and forth to the city center to earn extra income for his family. In total, he had been doing this job of driving a boat across the sea for 15 years.

“The majority of people here are villagers, and there are only a few visitors who come to visit the Tran Hung Dao monument, but tourism is not yet developed. We line up here, and when there are customers, we take turns working. On busy days, we carry 5-6 trips, on quiet days, we only carry 1-2 trips. Adults pay 3,000 VND, students pay 1,000 VND, and anyone who rents a boat pays 50,000 VND. If we are lucky, someone will hire us to transport goods, then it is better, otherwise, it is the same,” Mr. Vu shared.

Despite the difficulties, Mr. Vu still has to try, just hoping to earn more income to support his family. However, the difficulties do not stop there, registration and inspection for Mr. Vu and his fellow boatmen is a difficult process. “I bought this boat second-hand, and now I do not meet the conditions for registration and inspection. Moreover, I bought this boat for 15 million, so the registration and inspection costs have already been spent. How much money can I earn by carrying passengers? If the government forces me to stop, I have to accept it, what can I do?”, Mr. Vu sighed.

Hai Minh has 458 households and 1,860 people, of which 48 people work as ferrymen. Mr. Tran Van Tien, Party cell secretary and head of Area 9, Hai Cang ward, said that the terrain of Hai Minh is separated by the sea and spreads along a small piece of land at the foot of the mountain. Apart from a few people working as workers outside, most of the people work in small-scale exploitation along the sea, near-shore fishing, aquaculture and ferrymen. Currently, passenger boats operate in 6 groups run by individuals.

In Hai Minh, there is currently only one primary school and two kindergartens. Middle and high school students must go through the city center to go to school. “During the stormy season, boats have difficulty traveling, and safety is not guaranteed. However, if people do not use these means of transport, they will have no other way to go out, and students will not be able to go to school. The locality has proposed to establish a ferry to rotate, but many years have passed and it has not been implemented. We are very worried about safety, but other than propaganda work, there are no measures or solutions,” said Mr. Tien.

According to the leader of Hai Cang Ward People's Committee, Ham Tu - Hai Minh ferry route was spontaneously established by local people, existing due to the actual needs of local people living and traveling every day. This ferry route is currently known as a "3 no" ferry because: the ferry is not licensed for construction; the boats are not registered or inspected; the ferrymen do not have a license or professional certificate.

Mr. Dinh Anh Tuan, Vice Chairman of Hai Cang Ward People's Committee, shared that the locality has seen these shortcomings for a long time, and has proposed many agencies to find solutions to remove them, but there are still many obstacles. Firstly, the wharf, if you want to establish a wharf, you need land, Hai Minh has it but the center does not, because this area has been assigned to Quy Nhon fishing port. Secondly, the passenger boats in this area are all converted from fishing boats, people buy and sell with handwritten papers, there are no design documents so they cannot be registered or inspected.

Recently, the sectors have sought solutions, the Registry Department has created conditions to create a common design for people to register, but the cost is quite high compared to the people. Because people's income from ferry drivers is not high, each person earns only 1-3 thousand VND. Regarding the drivers, the Provincial People's Committee has coordinated to support 70% of the cost for people to study for certificates, but due to the low level of education, so far only a few ferry drivers have certificates. This area also cannot build a bridge because this is an estuary area.

“If these ships are not allowed to operate now, people will have no means of transportation to get out. In the immediate future, the locality will regularly coordinate with relevant agencies, especially the waterway traffic police, to organize patrols and controls, and regularly remind people to take measures to ensure waterway traffic safety. In the long term, I hope that relevant agencies will quickly take measures to remove difficulties in this area,” Mr. Tuan expressed.

Accompanying the people

On the weekend, ignoring their rest time, officers and soldiers of the Traffic Police Department of Binh Dinh Province Police were busy with their accompanying units - Tan Cang Mien Trung Joint Stock Company and Hai Cang Ward People's Committee, bringing national flags, buoys, and gifts to the people of Hai Minh peninsula. As soon as the canoe left the dock, on the other side of the shore, the people of Hai Minh gathered and waited.

Take passengers across the sea to the city center

At the community center, nearly a hundred women, children and boatmen gathered to listen to the traffic police force propagate the law on waterway traffic. Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Son, Captain of the Waterway Traffic Police Team. Traffic Police Department of Binh Dinh Province shared the difficulties and shortcomings with the people of Hai Minh and the Hai Cang ward authorities; at the same time, reminded the people that whatever they do, they must be within the framework of the law, and must strictly comply with the rules and regulations of the law.

In particular, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Son also disseminated to the people the benefits of strictly complying with regulations, fully equipping life-saving and rescue equipment, and legal regulations when risks occur. And emphasized the viewpoint of resolutely handling acts that lead to consequences when traffic accidents occur.

After listening to the traffic police officers' propaganda and signing the commitment, Mr. Diep Van Tao (58 years old, residing in area 9, Hai Cang ward), a ferryman on the Ham Tu - Hai Minh route, understood the provisions of the law and promised to strictly comply with the provisions of the law on inland waterway traffic. "I promise to ensure safety when participating in inland waterway traffic, provide full life jackets for passengers and strictly comply with the provisions of the law," Mr. Tao shared.

Accompanying the people to protect the homeland's sea and islands, encouraging fishermen to maintain their determination to go offshore and stick to the sea, contributing to the development of the marine economy, while maintaining the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland's sea and islands, the Traffic Police Department and its accompanying units presented 50 national flags to representatives of fishing families living in the locality. At the same time, 50 life jackets were presented to 50 students in the area to help them be safer every day they go to school; 10 gifts, each worth 1.2 million VND, were presented to policy families with difficult circumstances in the area.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Vang, Deputy Head of the Traffic Police Department of Binh Dinh Province Police, said that there have been no inland waterway traffic accidents in recent years and in 2022. However, there are still many potential risks of waterway traffic safety such as buoy systems, docks, unregistered and uninspected vehicles, and drivers without licenses or professional certificates. Both the police and local authorities have recognized the difficulties and shortcomings in inland waterway traffic activities on the Ham Tu - Hai Minh route that have existed for a long time.

In order to ensure traffic safety and order on the Ham Tu - Hai Minh inland waterway route, and to prevent unfortunate waterway accidents from occurring, the Traffic Police regularly coordinate and discuss with functional forces such as the Department of Transport Inspectorate, the Border Guard and especially the People's Committee of Hai Cang Ward to discuss measures. First, propose and recommend the People's Committee of Quy Nhon City, the Department of Transport, the Inspection Department 4 and the Provincial People's Committee to direct functional units to have solutions to support vehicle owners to build new vehicles that meet the operating conditions to ensure safety and prevent traffic accidents on inland waterways.

In addition, the unit also organized for the owners of passenger boats to sign a commitment to comply with the law on inland waterway traffic. The boat owners committed to strictly comply with the provisions of the law on inland waterway traffic.

“We have issued many warnings, sought solutions, and made recommendations to sectors and levels, but so far there has been no solution. While waiting for support and assistance measures and solutions, the Traffic Police force will regularly increase patrols and control to support people traveling on the Ham Tu - Hai Minh route to ensure safety. In addition to reminding vehicles about violations in registration and inspection, we will resolutely and strictly handle acts that can easily lead to consequences when traffic accidents occur, such as not equipping life-saving equipment, not letting passengers wear life jackets,” said Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hong Vang.

In 2022, the Traffic Police Department of Binh Dinh Province Police arranged 763 shifts, 2,881 officers and soldiers to patrol and control on key routes and areas. Thereby, detecting, recording, and handling 57 administrative violations, imposing fines of over 100 million VND; recording and suspending the operation of 4 illegal ferry terminals, 15 cases of passenger canoes operating in the wrong area, and 50 jet skis not operating according to regulations.

“Currently, the Ham Tu - Hai Minh route serves the daily essential needs of people, but all vehicles in operation do not meet the technical requirements for registration and inspection. While revenue from transportation activities is low and not enough to cover costs, people cannot afford to buy new vehicles that meet the operating conditions according to regulations; propose a plan to buy new vehicles and organize a suitable management and operation model for people's livelihood activities,” the document stated.

According to Diem Phuc (cand.com.vn)

Original article link: https://antg.cand.com.vn/Phong-su/chong-chanh-nhung-chuyen-do-sang-dao-hai-minh-i687619/

Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/chong-chanh-nhung-chuyen-do-sang-dao-hai-minh-post233517.html