Living milestones at sea

Exploiting and protecting sovereignty

As the owner of two pairs of NA 938 26 and NA 938 36 ships with a capacity of 830CV, each with about 20 crew members, fisherman Phung Ba Thu in Yen Dinh block, Nghi Thuy ward spends more time at sea exploiting seafood than at home. His family has 3 generations of seafarers, fisherman Phung Ba Thu himself has been attached to the sea since he was a boy of 12-13 years old, so for him, the sea is like something that is closely connected to his flesh and blood. That is why, when there was a policy to establishMaritime Militia PlatoonNghi Thuy ward, he was one of the first to participate.

Talking about his decision to join the maritime militia, Mr. Thu said: “I joined the maritime militia to contribute to protecting our homeland’s sea and islands. The sea gives us shrimp and fish, so we have to protect the sea to protect ourselves. On the other hand, when joining the maritime militia, we also received attention from the Party Committee and the government. In the past, when we went to sea, we felt alone, but now every time we go out to sea, we feel more secure because there is a connection between the boats and a close connection with the mainland.”

On each trip out to sea, fishermen who are members of the Nghi Thuy Ward Marine Militia Platoon feel more secure because of the cohesion between the boats and the close connection with the mainland. Photo: GH

Mr. Thu's fleet has 12 crew members participating in the maritime militia, the youngest of which is crew member Nguyen Duc Quyen, born in 1994. In addition to fishing for seafood, each trip also has the task of capturing information and developments at sea, especially the appearance of strange ships to report to the authorities. In addition, fishermen in the maritime militia platoon like Mr. Thu are also core members in rescue work at sea; propagating and advising other ships to recognize unusual signs at sea. "Like last year, Mr. Duong's fleet from block 9 encountered 5 strange ships suspected to be Chinese offshore, so they called me to ask for signs to identify Chinese ships. With my experience, I advised Mr. Duong to confirm the exact information to report to the authorities," Mr. Thu shared.

Boats in Nghi Thuy ward, Cua Lo town. Photo courtesy of Quang An

Determining that "To overcome big waves, you must have a big ship" - Mr. Thu is also one of the first fishermen in Nghi Thuy to pioneer in borrowing capital to build a big ship according to Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP of the Government to go offshore, bringing a stable source of income for his family and the crew.

Like Mr. Thu, fishing boat owners Mai Thanh Toan and Nguyen Van Binh of Dong Tien block all share the same pride as being members of the Maritime Militia Platoon, which both produces and directly participates in protecting the sovereignty of the homeland's sea and islands. The fleets of these fishermen all have a capacity of 750 horsepower with about 16 crew members per boat.

Ship owners mobilize crew members to check their boats before returning to sea. Photo courtesy of Quang An

After each trip to sea, the fishermen in the Nghi Thuy Ward Marine Militia Platoon exchange information on the situation of seafood exploitation at sea and other situations related to the sea and islands. They are also the ones who always grasp and strictly comply with the provisions of Vietnamese law, the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea and regulations on offshore exploitation activities such as information regime, determining coordinates... to fish and exploit the right fishing grounds of our country in the East Sea area. Each ship, each fisherman is a "landmark" of sovereignty, accompanying the functional forces in the work of keeping the homeland's sea and islands peaceful.

Model of skillful mass mobilization

Nghi Thuy Wardis a strategic location for national defense and security of Cua Lo town with a natural area of ​​180 hectares, a population of over 9,000 people, a workforce of nearly 5,000 people, of which about 1,200 people are directly involved in seafood exploitation. The whole ward has over 100 boats, of which 40 have a capacity of over 500 horsepower, the average annual exploitation output accounts for 2/3 of the total exploitation output of the whole town. From those factors, in 2016, the Provincial Military Command and the People's Committee of Cua Lo town coordinated to establish the Nghi Thuy Ward Marine Militia Platoon with 31 people, mainly fishermen in the commune, organized into 3 squads, operating on 3 boats over 450 horsepower, equipped with support tools such as binoculars, life buoys, walkie-talkies, loudspeakers... and other equipment according to regulations.

Nghi Thuy Ward, Cua Lo Town. Photo: Google Maps

According to comrade Nguyen Thanh Tung - Commander of the Nghi Thuy Ward Military Command: Although the lives of fishermen in general and the maritime militia in particular still face many difficulties, with a high sense of responsibility, the members of the maritime militia platoon always complete their assigned tasks well. While combining fishing on traditional fishing grounds, they also grasp the situation, promptly handle situations at sea, chase away foreign fishing vessels that violate Vietnam's waters... contributing to building the potential and posture of the entire people's national defense, building an increasingly strong defense area, creating a favorable environment for socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security of the sea.

Fisherman Phung Ba Thu's boat (far left) is fully equipped with communications equipment that can connect to the mainland. Photo: GH

In addition, the Nghi Thuy Ward Marine Militia Platoon also actively cooperated with functional forces in search and rescue work. In 2015, 10 rescue ships were mobilized to rescue fishermen in accidents at sea; in 2016, they participated in the search and rescue of Su-30 and pilot Tran Quang Khai and coordinated the search for drowned soldiers at Mat Island, which was praised by the Provincial Military Command; in 2017, 18 ships were organized to participate in the search for crew members of the VTB-26 ship and dozens of ships searched for fishermen who fell at sea, typically the incident in which the ship of Mr. Truong Van Duc, born in 1962 in Block 9 of Nghi Thuy Ward, on the way back from seafood exploitation, crew member Duong Van Chau, born in 1953 in Block 10, fell into the sea. Upon receiving information that the ship of the fishermen, who were members of the Marine Militia Platoon, coordinated with functional forces to actively search for crew member Duong Van Chau...

Nghi Thuy fishing port. Photo: Hai Vuong

To successfully complete the assigned tasks, every year, the Nghi Thuy ward maritime militia force also actively participates in military training, political education, law dissemination, and practice many operational plans at sea. Because everyone understands that each fisherman is a living "milestone", a "sea eye" in the middle of the country's open sea, each member of the maritime militia platoon is the core of the people's movement to protect the sovereignty and security of the national border.

Fishermen, members of the Nghi Thuy Ward Maritime Militia Platoon, hang the national flag each time they go out to sea (large photo); and exchange information with authorities (small photo). Photo: GH

What is impressive is that on each trip out to sea, the fishing boats of the members of the Maritime Militia Platoon are pioneers and exemplary in flying the national flag and in propagandizing and mobilizing other boats to do the same. The old flags are lowered and new flags are placed on the roof of the boat.

Every time the fleets of ships set sail, the red flags flutter proudly in the wind, affirming the sovereignty of the homeland's seas and islands.