LookAtVietnam – More than 4,000 fishing vessels in Thua Thien-Hue city province are forced to shelter in natural harbours during the storm season.

Fishing boats anchor in Vi Da Ward in Hue City. Slowness in building shelters for boats is forcing fishing vessels to find shelter in natural harbours during the storm season.

Work on the first shelter at Phu Hai was expected to start in June, 2008. Nearly VND40 billion (US$2.2 million) was set aside for the project.

The shelter was to have covered 10ha and provided accommodation for about 500 fishing ships.

Work was to have been finished in June this year but it has now been put off for another year. The project was delayed due to difficult building procedures.

The authority has yet to make a final decision on the rest of the projects.

In the meantime, fishermen are left to find their own shelter during heavy weather.

Do Khe, a fishing boat owner from Phu Vang district, said he and the owners of 20 deep-sea fishing vessels tried to anchor at the abandoned Truong Ha Ferry during a recent storm.

“I have to take my boat more than 20km to find shelter every rainy season. However, the boat and my home are far apart and this makes my life harder,” Khe said.

“I use tens of litres of fuel to drive the boat around looking for shelter,” said another fisherman Nguyen Luong.

Statistics from the local People’s Committee show that more than 1,730 boats are operating along the province’s 126km of coastline.

More than 80 fishing boats and vessels in this province alone were destroyed during Storm Ketsana last month due to a shortage of shelters.

Half of the destroyed boats belonged to fishermen in Vinh Hai commune in Phu Loc district, where there are no shelters.

According to Binh, the provincial authority has requested local authorities establish temporary anchorages for fishing boats during storms.

The authority would supervise the progress of the construction in Phu Hai to provide shelters for fishermen next June.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News