Many worries at the ferry terminals

(Baonghean) - According to statistics from the Department of Transport, in Nghe An, there are currently 13/18 cross-river passenger wharves with licenses to open. The facilities at the ferry wharves are mostly old, broken, and degraded; the means of transport are limited and not guaranteed... causing ferry passengers to "go and tremble".

Risk of losing traffic safety - old story told over and over again

Van Ru ferry terminal (Khanh Son commune, Nam Dan district) has nearly 100 people passing through every day. However, the infrastructure of this ferry terminal has been used for many years but has received little investment. The waiting room at Van Ru ferry terminal is only temporary, shabby, and not enough to protect passengers from the sun and rain if they need to stay and wait for the ferry. The entrance and exit of the ferry terminal has only been built on one side, while the other side is still a collapsed dirt road.

Passengers getting on and off the boat still have to walk on makeshift wooden planks, which have not been built yet. Apart from the conditions to ensure the safety of passengers, the most worrying thing is that neither the boat owner nor the passengers care much about the life jackets for direct protection.

The road up and down to Ru Nguoc ferry terminal (Ngoc Son, Thanh Chuong) has no protective railing.

At Ru Nguoc ferry terminal, Ngoc Son commune (Thanh Chuong), the common situation is that some ferries operating on the terminal do not have protective railings, which are slippery and very dangerous. The entrances and exits have been basically paved with concrete, but the quality is low, uneven, and there has been no investment in building a railing system. The operation of the "self-managed safe ferry terminal" model has not been maintained regularly. The situation of passengers crossing the ferry without wearing life jackets is also quite common.

Be proactive for the rainy season

To ensure the safety of ferry terminals during the rainy and stormy season, every year the Provincial People's Committee establishes an interdisciplinary inspection team to inspect the work of ensuring traffic safety and order on inland waterways; including the activities of ferry terminals in the area. Entering the rainy and stormy season this year, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 2572/QD-UBND dated June 6, 2016 on the establishment of an interdisciplinary inspection team to inspect the work of ensuring traffic safety and order on inland waterways.

The inspection showed that not only have the safety conditions for ferry terminals not been met, but the means of transport are also not guaranteed. In Thanh Chuong, the district with the largest number of cross-river passenger terminals in the province, some terminals do not have rules and price lists or have them but they are damaged. The road up and down at Phuong ferry terminal is eroded.

The delegation also drew up a record of administrative violations against vehicles at Cung ferry terminal for transporting passengers across the river without providing safety equipment for passengers and vehicles not purchasing civil liability insurance. In Anh Son district, 2/3 of the terminals are not eligible to operate because their terminal licenses have expired and have not been reissued...

Ferry trip across Van Ru (Khanh Son, Nam Dan).

Mr. Phan Huy Chuong - Deputy Chief Inspector of Traffic in Nghe An said: "Violations by means of transport on ferry routes still occur. The main faults are that the vehicles are not safe, the drivers do not have certificates to operate inland waterway vehicles as prescribed, are not equipped with enough life-saving equipment, and do not post the ferry regulations and ticket prices."

In addition to strengthening management and propaganda, it is more important that both vehicle owners and people participating in traffic at cross-river passenger terminals always raise their awareness of using safety measures, contributing to limiting traffic accidents at cross-river ferry terminals during the rainy and stormy season.

Dinh Nguyet - Dinh Ha