Nghe An fishermen go to sea on steel-hulled boats

(Baonghean) - Since having steel-hulled fishing boats, people have become more confident, reaching out to the waters of Bach Long Vi and further to Hoang Sa and Truong Sa to catch seafood of high economic value, while contributing to protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands.

Standing on a steel-hulled ship with license plate NA 99959 TS built under the loan support policy of Decree 67/CP, fisherman Bui Van Dinh, Phong Thai hamlet, Tien Thuy commune (Quynh Luu) happily said that he used to fish on a wooden-hulled ship with a 480CV engine, which was quite large, but every time he went out to sea and encountered heavy rain and strong waves, it was very difficult and dangerous. Many trips encountered winds of about level 6 and had to turn back to shore, losing money on fuel. Therefore, an iron-hulled fishing boat with a large engine capacity has always been the dream of Mr. Dinh as well as many other fishermen...

Quynh Luu fishermen's steel-hulled boat docks at Lach Quen fishing port. Photo: Xuan Hoang

In 2016, when Decree 67 of the Government came into effect, fishermen built large fishing boats to go offshore, the economic efficiency was clear, Mr. Dinh and his crew sold their old wooden boats to contribute capital to build steel boats. He stood up to register and was approved by the authorities for a bank loan to build the boat. At the end of 2016, with a loan from the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development, Phu Dien branch, Mr. Dinh's steel-hulled boat with a capacity of 829 horsepower, a hull longer than 25 meters, and a width of more than 7 meters was completed and put into operation. Since then, Mr. Dinh has been able to go to sea 5 times, with the trawling profession, each trip caught 20 - 25 tons of seafood compared to the previous wooden-hulled boat with a smaller engine capacity, each trip only caught 7 - 10 tons. On average, Mr. Dinh's steel-hulled boat earned a profit of over 100 million VND/trip.

He said that steel-hulled boats are equipped with modern winches, so they need less labor than wooden boats. Previously, 480CV wooden boats had to employ 12 workers, but now, although the boats are bigger and have bigger engines, they only employ 10 workers. Each trip at sea, Mr. Dinh's 10 crew members earn an income of 6 million VND/person or more, and their lives are more stable than before. "The last trip lasted 10 days, bringing in 25 tons of squid, needlefish, and spotted fish, worth nearly 200 million VND," Mr. Dinh added.

Regarding the quality of the steel-hulled ship, Mr. Dinh shared: “Recently, the media reported that some steel-hulled ships in the provinces were damaged and of poor quality, which was also worrying. However, after 5 voyages, our steel-hulled ship has not had any mechanical problems, other parts are also working well, only some small details in the net-harness installation are not suitable, the crew has adjusted it. Not only our ship but other steel-hulled ships in Quynh Luu have not had any major problems...

Since having this steel-hulled ship, we have become more confident in operating in far-off waters, and our morale has become stronger. We often go fishing in the Bach Long Vi sea area and sometimes even further, so the seafood we catch is often high-value fish. On the other hand, it also contributes to protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands"...

Fishermen in Hoang Mai town catch valuable seafood from iron-hulled boats built under Decree 67. Photo: Viet Hung

Quynh Luu district is the locality with the largest fleet of fishing boats in the province, and the number of fishermen who have built boats according to Decree 67/CP is also the largest in the province. Up to now, 54 boat owners have been approved for loans, including 11 steel-hulled boats. According to the assessment of the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, up to now, Quynh Luu district has had 4 steel-hulled boats of fishermen completed and put into operation. Up to this point, the district has not received information about significant damage to steel-hulled boats from fishermen. There are only a few small details serving fishing due to inappropriate installation, fishermen have proactively corrected.

Hoang Mai town has 3 completed steel-hulled ships put into operation. According to the assessment of the town People's Committee, all 3 steel-hulled ships of fishermen in the area operate effectively, without significant damage. Fisherman Nguyen Van Phuong's ship in Quynh Phuong ward has gone to sea 16 times smoothly, each trip earning a profit of 200 - 300 million VND; fisherman Phan Van Manh's ship has gone to sea 12 times, earning a profit of 100 - 200 million VND/trip. The effectiveness of steel-hulled ships is such, however, the appraisal of loan applications by commercial banks to lend to fishermen to build steel-hulled ships is still limited, so the number of new ships is still small.

Assessing the quality and efficiency of steel-hulled ships in the province, Mr. Tran Huu Tien - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said: Of the 9 newly built steel-hulled ships (7 ships have been put into operation), 5 ships were built at Song Da Shipbuilding Company, 4 ships were built in Hai Phong and Thai Binh, all ships were built according to approved technical designs.

During the process of putting into operation for fishing, the steel-hulled vessels only had some minor problems, no major damage. Up to this point, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has not received any feedback from fishermen about damaged steel-hulled vessels. In general, steel-hulled vessels are equipped with modern and synchronous equipment, helping fishermen to easily go further offshore, stay at sea for longer periods, and sailors have more convenient places to work and rest. All fishermen who build steel-hulled vessels are doing business effectively, are very excited, and are determined to stay at sea to develop the economy and contribute to protecting the territorial waters of the Fatherland.

Xuan Hoang