The Ministry of Transport has called on authorised agencies to launch
thorough inspections on waterway vessels nation-wide in order to assure
lawful operation and passenger safety.

A tourist boat anchors in the Sai Gon River. An inspection campaign has been launched nationwide for strengthening waterways safety. (Photo: VNS)

The move follows
the tragic sinking of a tour boat in southern Binh Duong Province that
killed 16 people, including five children, last week.

The ministry
required municipal and provincial People’s Committees to tighten supervision
on waterway transport services, focusing on multi-storey boats and floating
restaurants in particular.

Vessels failing
to meet safety requirements, including skippers without professional
licences and low-quality engines, would be fined, suspended from operation
and seized. Illegal wharfs would be shut down, the ministry said.

Local authorities
have been called upon to implement drastic measures for better managing
boats and ensuring waterway traffic order.

Enterprises who
offer passenger services were urged to regularly update information in order
to cope with unexpected weather changes during trips.

HCM City’s
Transport Department Deputy Chief Inspector, Nguyen Bat Han, told the
Vietnam News Agency yesterday that the unscheduled inspection on boats along
the Bach Dang Wharf and Sai Gon River on Monday and Tuesday revealed that
many boats were in transgression of the law, some without life jackets on
board.

Tour boat SG 0168
had only 210 life jackets available to 380 passengers. Most jackets had been
kept in the boat’s storeroom.

Tour boat SG 3019 was found to be operating
illegally while several crewmembers on a Ben Nghe boat had never attended
any professional courses.

Previous
inspections on eight floating restaurants in HCM City revealed that most
failed to meet technical requirements and regulations regarding fire
fighting and fire prevention.

Han said that
city traffic police would continue regular checks on tourism boats and
floating restaurants along the Sai Gon River while and additional inspection
campaign on transport vessels would kick off soon.

Can Tho has
become the third locality, after HCM City and Binh Duong, to implement
inspections on restaurant boats.

Ho Van Nam,
deputy head of the Can Tho Waterway Traffic Police Department, said that two
boats, My Xuyen and My Khanh, had been ordered to suspend operations due to
operating without proper registration while failing to subscribe to safety
rules.

A large number of
unlicensed boats are often seen gathering at Ninh Kieu Quay offering two
hour rides at VND250,000 (US$12.5) per person.

Although 120
boats were reported to have licences and to be contracted to tour companies,
many of these did not have enough life buoys.

Can Tho has more
than 65,990 vessels, of which only 5,501 have licences. The city has 10,760
certified skippers and chief mechanics.