Nghe An tightens traffic control on waterways

Strengthen patrol, control and handling of violations

One of the violations occurring on inland waterways (IWT) is the situation ofsand miningIllegal sand mining, causing public outrage. Most recently, at around 10 p.m. on November 2, in the Lam River area in Block 13, Ben Thuy Ward, Vinh City, a 47m long, 5.2m wide iron-hulled ferry equipped with 7 engine systems and 4 people illegally mining sand was discovered and handled by the authorities. Through inspection, it was determined that the amount of illegally mined sand contained in the ferry's hold was 112m³.

During the working process, the police agency clarified that the amount of sand on the ferry after exploitation was transported by the subjects to the gathering area at the wharf of Construction and Trade Joint Stock Company 668, in block 13, Ben Thuy ward, Vinh city. At the gathering area of ​​this company, there is more than 1,630m³sand, at the time of inspection, the company's leaders had not yet presented documents proving the legal origin of the sand, so the Environmental Police Department temporarily detained the vehicle to continue verifying and handling according to the provisions of law.

Authorities handle ship owners and vehicles violating the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic. Photo courtesy of Duc Vu

In 2021, in the whole province, functional forces discovered, arrested, and handled 704 cases of illegal mineral exploitation, mainly sand and gravel exploitation.Traffic policeThe waterway police organized 246 shifts, 1,170 officers and soldiers participated, recorded 102 cases, fined nearly 258 million VND to the State Treasury; arrested 1 case, 1 subject, seized 80 m³ of sand.

Since 2006, the province has discovered and handled more than 1,000 cases of illegal sand and gravel exploitation, transportation, gathering and trading on inland waterways, administrative violations have been punished, and over 20 billion VND has been collected for the state budget.

Handling violations of illegal sand and gravel exploitation on rivers is one of the key contents in strictly implementing the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic, in which the main forces are the Waterway Police, Traffic Police (under the Provincial Police) and Transport Inspectorate (under the Department of Transport).

For this work, the Provincial People's Committee also regularly and resolutely directs the inspection, handling of administrative violations and ensuring order and safety of inland waterway traffic. As of 2021, the forces have organized 6,750 patrols with the participation of over 29,000 officers and soldiers, detecting over 19,200 violations. Accordingly, fines were imposed on over 19,000 violations, collecting over 18.5 billion VND to the State budget; and warnings were issued to over 200 cases.

In addition, the operation of 72 inland waterway ports and over 500 waterway vehicles that do not meet the operating conditions according to regulations was suspended. Five specialized inspections of inland waterway transport were organized, and through inspections, 35 organizations and over 300 individuals were handled for violating the provisions of the law on waterway traffic, and 320 cases were fined with a total of 326 million VND.

Strengthen propaganda to raise awareness

In addition to patrolling, controlling and penalizing violations of the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic, the work of propaganda, dissemination and legal education is also focused on by functional agencies and units with many diverse, widespread and in-depth methods, contributing to positive changes in awareness and law compliance of the people and subjects participating in activities on inland waterway.

Waterway traffic police remind boat owners to comply with the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic. Photo: File.

One of the effective ways is to build many models to ensure order and safety of waterway traffic such as the "Peaceful fishing village" model in Hoa Lam hamlet, Hung Hoa commune, Vinh city; the "Safe ferry" model at Cung ferry, Cat Van commune, Thanh Chuong district; "Model ferry" at Phu Son ferry (Tan Ky), Hoa Hai ferry (Quy Chau), Pha Lai ferry (Con Cuong); "Safe harbor of Cua Hoi port" (Cua Lo town)... Thanks to that, people participating in traffic on waterways have felt much more secure.

The leader of the Provincial Traffic Police Department affirmed that although the number of ferry terminals and river crossing boats in the province is not much, the work of propagating and disseminating the law to vehicle owners and people on ensuring safety when participating in waterway traffic is still carried out in combination with regular inspections, including the boat terminals on Lam River. According to the plan, the whole province currently has 9 ports, 35 passenger terminals, 200 cargo terminals. However, there are currently only 20 passenger terminals in operation. The Provincial Traffic Police Department has coordinated with departments, branches, local authorities and schools to promote the propaganda of the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic. At the same time, launching a mass movement to participate in ensuring order and safety of inland waterway traffic, especially the campaign "Traffic culture with peace on the river" which has been deployed annually and maintained from 2005 to present.

Waterway freight transport in Nghe An is becoming increasingly active and requires strict control to avoid violations of the law. Photo courtesy.

According to the assessment of the Provincial People's Committee leaders on the implementation results of the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic since it took effect in 2006, the inland waterway system in the province is still underdeveloped. Many shoals, low water level, transportation is mainly based on natural channels. Therefore, it is only suitable for small boats to transport passengers for short distances and mainly to transport construction materials (sand, gravel, ...).

Currently, the volume of water transport (goods and passengers) in the province is insignificant compared to road transport due to unfavorable natural conditions. And as of 2021, the number of registered inland waterway vehicles is 1,028, including 730 cargo vehicles, 27 passenger vehicles issued by the Department of Transport; 271 vehicles issued by the District People's Committee. However, currently, about 50% of the drivers do not have a driver's license or appropriate professional certificate; most of the vehicles have not complied with regulations on the arrangement of positions on the vehicle, on establishing a crew list, passenger list, etc.

Therefore, in addition to strictly handling violations, propaganda and dissemination of laws on the implementation of the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic plays a very important role in forming people's awareness, minimizing accidents, risks and violations in the field of inland waterway traffic.