The proposal to import old ships of 2 tycoons was rejected.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said that the imports of Tri Viet Seafood Corporation and Duc Khai Company are not qualified because these vessels are over the prescribed age.

Steel-hulled fishing boat in the sea area of ​​Da Nang. Illustrative photo

The document was signed by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Vu Van Tam, based on the review of the old fishing boat import dossier of Tri Viet Company, submitted to the Ministry in early July 2014.

Accordingly, regarding the application for importing used steel-hulled fishing vessels under 15 years old, the Ministry stated that according to regulations, imported fishing vessels must have legal origin, be steel-hulled vessels, have a total main engine capacity of 400 CV or more, and be no more than 8 years old (calculated from the year of construction to the time of import). At the same time, the main engine of the vessel must be no more than 2 years older than the age of the vessel and must be inspected by the Vietnam Fishing Vessel Registration Agency before the vessel is brought to Vietnam.

Therefore, based on the technical specifications of the ships attached to the submission of Tri Viet Company, it can be seen that 13 out of 14 ships are over 15 years old, one ship is 12 years old, many ships were built in 1978, 1982, have been in operation for over 30 years, which is not in accordance with regulations. Therefore, the import of ships in this case is also not qualified.

Regarding preferential loans for building fishing boats, the Ministry's document states that the loan conditions must be that the subjects are operating effectively in the fishing industry, have financial capacity and have a specific production plan, approved by the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities.

This response was also sent by the Ministry of Agriculture to the Government Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the State Bank...

Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam said that the Ministry also did not agree with the proposal of Duc Khai Company. Similar to the case of Tri Viet, the company's request to import 100 fishing boats, all manufactured since 1985, did not meet the standards after comparing with the regulations.

Previously, as a real estate enterprise, Duc Khai Company also planned to jump into the seafood industry. The company sent a document to the Government Office and the Ministries proposing a support mechanism to allow import, preferential interest rates, taxes... with the investment of a fleet of 100 old ships with a 30-40 year lifespan from Japan and Korea. The total capital to implement this project is more than 1,500 billion VND, of which the cost for the fleet is up to more than 1,000 billion VND.

Meanwhile, in early July, Mr. Tran Van Tri - Chairman of Tri Viet Company sent an official dispatch to the Ministry of Agriculture, Finance, Industry and Trade, Transport... and banks and enterprises requesting to import and build 220 new steel-hulled ships, import 3 rescue helicopters and build 2 wharves in Phu Quoc island district (Kien Giang) and Tran De Port (Soc Trang).

The idea was proposed in the context of the State's policy of building, renovating and upgrading steel-hulled fishing boats to help fishermen catch and exploit aquatic products. Tri Viet itself has many seafood processing factories in the provinces of Vinh Long, Can Tho, Soc Trang, Kien Giang and all lack raw materials for production.

According to VnExpress