Many concerns arise at ferry crossings.

(Baonghean) - According to statistics from the Department of Transport, 13 out of 18 river ferry terminals in Nghe An province currently have operating licenses. The infrastructure at these terminals is mostly old, damaged, and dilapidated; the available vehicles are limited and inadequate, causing passengers to travel by ferry with apprehension.

The risk of traffic accidents - an old story that's been told repeatedly.

The Van Ru ferry terminal (Khanh Son commune, Nam Dan district) sees nearly 100 people crossing daily. However, the infrastructure of this ferry terminal has been in use for many years without much investment. The waiting area at Van Ru ferry terminal is only a temporary, dilapidated structure, insufficient to provide shelter from the sun and rain for passengers who need to wait for the ferry. The access road to and from the ferry terminal has only been built on one side, while the other side remains a rough, eroded dirt road.

Passengers still have to walk on makeshift wooden planks when boarding and disembarking the ferry, as no proper infrastructure has been invested in. Besides ensuring passenger safety, the biggest concern remains the lack of life jackets for direct protection, a fact that neither the ferry operators nor the passengers seem to care much about.

The access road to and from the Rú Nguộc ferry terminal (Ngọc Sơn, Thanh Chương) lacks protective railings.

At the Ru Nguoc ferry terminal in Ngoc Son commune (Thanh Chuong district), a common problem is that some ferries operating at the terminal lack safety railings, making them slippery and very dangerous. While the access ramps have been largely paved with concrete, the quality is poor, uneven, and lacks proper railings. Furthermore, the "self-managed safe ferry terminal" model is not consistently maintained. The practice of passengers not wearing life jackets is also quite common.

We need to be proactive in preparing for the rainy and stormy season.

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

Inspections revealed that not only were safety conditions for the ferry terminals not met, but the transportation vehicles were also inadequate. In Thanh Chuong district, which has the largest number of ferry terminals in the province, some terminals lacked regulations and price lists, or had damaged ones. The access road to and from Phuong ferry terminal was also affected by landslides.

The team also issued administrative violation reports against a vessel at Cung ferry terminal for transporting passengers across the river without safety equipment and for not having civil liability insurance. Meanwhile, in Anh Son district, two-thirds of the ferry terminals did not meet operating requirements because their operating licenses had expired and had not been renewed…

The ferry crossing at Van Ru (Khanh Son, Nam Dan).

Mr. Phan Huy Chuong, Deputy Chief Inspector of Transport in Nghe An, stated: "Violations by transport vehicles on ferry routes still occur. The main offenses include vehicles not meeting safety standards, operators lacking the required inland waterway vessel operator's license, insufficient life-saving equipment, and failure to display ferry terminal regulations and fare prices."

Besides strengthening management and public awareness campaigns, the most important thing is that both vehicle owners and people using ferry services at river crossings constantly improve their awareness of safety measures, contributing to reducing traffic accidents at ferry crossings during the rainy season.

Dinh Nguyet - Dinh Ha