Nghe An fishermen grieve over billion-dollar ships burned to the frame

Ship on fire, how to pay debt?

All day today, many fishermen went out to the area.Lach Quen fishing portin Quynh Thuan commune, Quynh Luu district to see with their own eyes the fishing boats burned down by fire on the night of July 28. Looking at the big ships with big engines burned to the frame under the water, everyone was heartbroken, relatives of the ship owners were in tears.

Fisherman Bui Minh Nam in Dai Bac hamlet, Quynh Long commune sadly said that his fishing boat and crew with license plate NA 99696 were built under the support policy of Decree 67/CP, with a total value of over 11 billion VND, and have been put into operation for 6 years now.

The night before the fire broke out,fishing boatHis ship had just returned from sea for 2 days. After that voyage, all the crew and ship owner went home to rest. On the evening of July 28, when they heard people calling to report the ship was on fire, when they arrived at the port, the fire had engulfed the entire ship and spread to the ship next door.

Sitting watching the wreck of the fishing boat gradually sink into the sea, Mrs. Tran Thi Hong in Quynh Long commune wiped away her tears: The family borrowed money from many places to build the 11 billion VND boat. The whole family's livelihood depends entirely on the boat. After the Covid-19 pandemic, the boat was in operation for a short time, but then high oil prices and the stormy rainy season caused fishing to stagnate. In recent months, when the fishing industry has been more stable, the boat burned down again, and the family has no way to make a living.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuyen, a resident living near the fishing port area, was present when the boat fire occurred. She said that two years ago, a fishing boat fire occurred at this location, causing billions of dong in damage to fishermen. But the fishing boat fire last night was larger, causing more damage to fishermen's property. "If there were professional fire fighting equipment in this fishing port area, the fire would have been controlled quickly and the damage would have been limited," Ms. Xuyen said.

Ms. Tran Thi Hoan (wife of ship owner Tran Van Doan) in hamlet 6, Son Hai commune (Quynh Luu) said that the ship built under Decree 67/CP has a total value of more than 7 billion VND contributed by 6-7 crew members. After 7 years of operation, because the fishing industry has not been very favorable in recent years, the loan to build the ship has not been able to pay off all the debt. Now the ship has burned down, the debt has piled up even more.

“The burnt boat was built by the family and crew together under Project 67, and the bank loan has only been partially paid. Now without the means to go fishing, the fishermen do not know where to get the money to pay the bank loan along with the corresponding loan of about 3 billion VND. Fortunately, our boat was insured by the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade, so we are somewhat reassured, but in the long run, we do not know what will happen,” said Ms. Hoan.

Contributing capital to build Project 67 ship, the family of crew member Tran Van Toan working on fishing boat NA 95656 in Son Hai commune was also shocked when the ship worth more than 7 billion VND caught fire at night. To develop the economy, his family borrowed about 300 million VND from the bank to contribute capital with ship owner Tran Van Doan to build the ship according to Decree 67.

Mr. Toan said that the ship is worth more than 7 billion VND, of which the State supported a loan of more than 4 billion VND, the remaining amount of which the ship owner and crew members have to contribute about 3 billion VND. Since the ship went into operation, the amount of money to pay the debt is about 2 billion VND; now that the ship has burned down, the fishermen do not know where to get money to pay the debt, all the capital in the house is invested in this ship.

Support fishermen to overcome difficulties

In the fishing boat fire on the night of July 28, in addition to 3 fishing boats of fishermen from Son Hai commune, there were also 2 boats of fishermen from Quynh Long commune. Fisherman Bui Xuan Xin - owner of fishing boat NA 99696 in Dai Bac village, Quynh Long commune said that the burnt boat was newly built for 11.5 billion VND, creating jobs for 19 local workers. The fire burned all the property on the boat. "I hope the State, agencies, departments and branches will pay attention and help fishermen to overcome difficulties and stabilize their lives soon," fisherman Bui Xuan Xin shared.

Mr. Cao Xuan Diep - Chairman of the People's Committee of Son Hai Commune (Quynh Luu) said that during the shipbuilding process, in addition to the members' counterpart funds, the ship owners also borrowed money from the bank. Now the ship has burned and is no longer able to operate to pay off the debt, while most of the ships cannot buy hull and hull insurance. To overcome the damage to the people, it is recommended that authorities at all levels, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant agencies consider helping and supporting ship owners to overcome difficulties and stabilize production.

As reported, at around 7:30 p.m. on July 28, while anchored at Lach Quen fishing port, Quynh Thuan commune, fishing boat NA - 99699 owned by owner Bui Xuan Xin in Quynh Long commune caught fire, then the boat drifted with the current and spread to 4 other boats anchored nearby, causing all 5 boats to burn fiercely at night (including 3 boats of fishermen in Son Hai commune and 2 boats of fishermen in Quynh Long commune). The fire caused tens of billions of dong in damage. Currently, the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district has directed the authorities to investigate, verify the cause of the fire, assess the damage and direct support to overcome the ship fire.