Provincial Party Secretary visits and encourages fishermen whose fishing boat was sunk

Accompanying were comrades of the Provincial Party Standing Committee: Ho Phuc Hop - Head of the Provincial Party Organization Committee and Bui Thanh An - Head of the Provincial Party Inspection Committee; comrade Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Chairwoman of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee; representatives of leaders of provincial departments, branches, Quynh Luu district and Tien Thuy commune.

Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh and the working delegation visited and encouraged the family of sailor Nguyen Van Hoa. Photo: Thu Giang

Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh and the delegation came to offer condolences to the family of Nguyen Van Hoa (born in 1980), residing in Phong Thai hamlet, Tien Thuy commune.

Mr. Hoa was a crew member who was rescued after the ship sank, but when he woke up, he could not find his son, Nguyen Van Phong (born 2002), so Mr. Hoa jumped into the sea to search for his son, leading to his death.

Mr. Hoa's family situation is extremely difficult, with an elderly mother over 80 years old and two children aged 10. In addition to his son, he has two nephews, Nguyen Van Tung and Nguyen Van Manh, who are also crew members on the ship and are still missing.

The Provincial Party Secretary talks with relatives of the victims of the fishing boat that sank off the coast near Bach Long Vy Island. Photo: Thu Giang

In the evening of the same day, Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh met with rescued sailors and relatives of missing sailors at Tien Thuy commune headquarters.

At the meeting, comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh said that the top priority now is to rescue the sunken fishing boat and search for the 9 missing fishermen.

Regarding the search and rescue work, he said that 4 ships were assigned and 6 fishing boats were hired to participate in the search for the victims.

“If the depth is 40 meters, we can choose to hire local divers to search, but because the ship is estimated to sink at a depth of more than 60 meters, we have to hire divers from Ho Chi Minh City. Yesterday (July 2), we were able to approach the ship, but because the net was tightly wrapped around the ship, we could not go inside,” said the Provincial Party Secretary.

“Unfortunately, the storm is coming again, so to ensure the safety of the rescue work, the search team must withdraw from the scene. However, after the storm, we will try to approach and salvage the ship as quickly as possible,” added comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh.

The working group gave gifts and encouraged the rescued sailors returning to their hometowns on July 2. Photo: Thu Giang.

The Provincial Party Secretary and members of the working delegation expressed their deep condolences for the great and irreparable losses of the families and clans whose relatives were in the accident; at the same time, they affirmed that the province and district will try their best to share, shoulder and support the families in difficulty. “I was also born in the fishing village, so I understand the value of the workers here. Those who have passed away are all the pillars of their families,” shared Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh.

Citing the Prime Minister's Official Dispatch No. 795-CD/TTg dated July 2, 2019 on the search and rescue of victims of the sinking fishing boat in Hai Phong, the head of Nghe An province affirmed that the incident was not only the story of fishing boat NA 95889 TS and Pacific 01, but also a national responsibility, with the participation of many agencies, ministries, branches, and localities, including the functional agencies of Nghe An province.

Talking to families whose relatives were in the accident, the Provincial Party Secretary affirmed that he would try his best to share and help the families, giving priority to rescue work. Photo: Thu Giang

The delegation presented gifts to the victims’ families. Vietinbank Bac Nghe An branch supported the families with a total amount of 73 million VND.

At approximately 1:00 p.m. on June 28, 2019, the Pacific 01 ship collided with the fishing boat NA 95899 TS (with 19 crew members on board) at coordinates 19032.334N; 107042.263E, approximately 32 nautical miles south of Bach Long Vi Island and 14.5 nautical miles from the demarcation line of the Gulf of Tonkin on the Chinese side. After that, the Pacific 01 ship lowered a lifeboat to rescue 9 crew members, 1 crew member died, 9 people went missing.

Due to the location of the sunken ship being over 65m deep, the capacity and means of the civil search and rescue force are difficult to meet the diving requirements to search for the crew members in distress. In light of this reality, the Ministry of Transport has requested the National Committee for Natural Disaster Response and Search and Rescue and the Ministry of National Defense to support the necessary measures to carry out the search for the crew members who may be trapped in the sunken fishing vessel.

Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has signed an official dispatch requesting ministries, branches and localities to mobilize forces and means to resolutely implement measures to search and rescue 9 missing fishermen. The Ministry of National Defense continues to coordinate with the Ministry of Transport to organize the search for missing fishermen; promptly mobilize forces and means to participate in the search and rescue.