The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development responds to Nghe An voters' petition on credit policy for building new fishing vessels.

The petitions of Nghe An voters were responded to by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development as follows:

-Regarding the Government's recommendationsheart, have solutions, direct banks to release mortgages of real estate (or other assets other than fishing vessels) for loans to build new fishing vessels:

Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP and its amendments and supplements do not stipulate that commercial banks are only allowed to accept the ship as an asset formed from the loan capital as collateral. Therefore, the addition of collateral other than the ship for the loan is an agreement between the customer and the bank, not contrary to the provisions of law.

In case the ship owner cannot repay the bank loan as agreed, the banks are forced to file a lawsuit and handle the secured assets according to the law to recover the loan.

Quynh Luu shipyards barely exist, mainly maintaining and repairing old ships. Photo: Van Truong

-Regarding the Government's recommendationsm, has a policy of debt relief and debt cancellation for borrowersincubateeviluBecause the remaining debt value is very large and fishing activities are difficult, most of the ship owners in the bad debt group are unable to continue paying their debts.:

Currently, Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP and documents amending and supplementing Decree 67 do not have provisions on debt forgiveness policy. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is actively coordinating with the State Bank, the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and branches to review, synthesize opinions and submit to the Government to issue a Decree replacing Decree No. 67, including a debt forgiveness and debt extension policy for ship owners to ensure production and loan repayment.

-On recommendations to remove difficulties inmBuy fishing boat insurance for fishermen according to Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP by insurance companiesmStop selling from 2019 toand supplement the policy to support insurance costs for equipment and fishing equipment.under cmoundof fishing boats:

To implement the policy of supporting insurance costs according to Decree 67, the Ministry of Finance issued Circular No. 115./2014/TT-BTC August 202014 guidelines for implementing insurance policies. In particular, there are requirements for insurance companies to ensure financial capacity, network management and implementation experience when participating.

Currently, there are only 4 insurance companies registered to participate: Bao Viet Insurance Corporation, Bao Minh Joint Stock Corporation, Petrolimex Joint Stock Insurance Corporation, PVI Insurance Corporation.

Boats dock at Nghi Thuy fishing port (Cua Lo town) after a trip at sea. Photo: Gia Huy

However, since the end of 2019, insurance companies have issued documents announcing the temporary suspension of insurance policies according to Decree No. 6.7/2014/NĐ-CP. The reason reported by the insurance companies is that the fishing boat suffered too much damage while the wreckage could not be found, the cause of the loss could not be determined and the possibility of insurance fraud and policy abuse could not be ruled out. If the implementation continues, the insurance companies will suffer huge losses, greatly affecting the financial capacity of the company.

According to the provisions of the Law on Insurance Business, fishing vessel insurance is not a compulsory type of insurance. The law on fisheries also does not stipulate that ship owners must purchase hull insurance before going to sea, except for insurance for crew members. Insurance companies and fishermen enter into the above insurance contracts, the principle of voluntary compliance.vwith legal regulations. Fishermen can choose to buy insurance under the support policy in Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP or other insurance policies. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has also repeatedly sent documents and discussed with the Ministry of Finance regarding this content.

The Ministry of Finance has also issued official dispatches requesting insurance companies to continue to closely coordinate with local authorities and relevant agencies to implement insurance policies according to Decree No. 67/2014/ND-CP and the report to the Prime Minister, coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to consider amending and supplementing rules, terms, insurance premium schedules and policies to support insurance costs for fishing gear of fishing vessels in the draft Decree replacing Decree 6.7.

Bustling working scene at Nghi Thuy fishing port (Cua Lo town). Photo: Gia Huy

-Regarding the proposal to amend the shipowner conversion mechanism with more flexible conditions:According to the State Bank's report on the implementation of credit policyuThe conversion of fishing vessel owners according to Decree No. 17/2018/ND-CP has so far been carried out for 20 fishing vessels with outstanding debt of nearly 99 billion VND. However, this mechanism is no longer suitable for the actual value of the vessel, which is much lower than the loan of the old vessel owner.

Currently, the difficulties and problems have been compiled, reported and included in the draft of the revised mechanism for transferring ship owners (between old ship owners who do not have enough capacity to exploit, do not pay debts on time, and are unable to overcome, they will be transferred to new ship owners with better exploitation capacity, better finances, and more effective use of ships) which will be submitted to the Government to issue a Decree to replace Decree 61 in the near future.

-Regarding the content of the voters' recommendation to soon implement negotiations and sign an agreement on cooperation in fishing in the common waters of the Gulf of Tonkin between Vietnam and China. At the same time, strengthen and consolidate the law enforcement and security fleet offshore to protect fishermen so they can safely exploit and catch seafood:

Agreement on Fisheries Cooperation in the Gulf of TonkingiThe Agreement was signed by the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government of the People's Republic of China in 2000. On June 30, 2020, the above Agreement expired. The two sides also held a conference to review the results of 15 years of implementing the Agreement.

Since the end of 2020, the two governments have agreed to continue to assign relevant agencies to organize negotiations on a new international treaty on fisheries cooperation in the Gulf of Tonkin. However, from 2020 to the beginning of 2022, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, negotiations between the two countries have been interrupted. Currently, the two governments are directing relevant agencies to continue to organize the resumption of negotiations to sign an agreement in the coming time.

The Fisheries Surveillance force monitors and brings the violating fishing boat to Cua Lo Port for administrative punishment. Photo: Nguyen Hai

To support fishermen in exploiting and catching seafood, law enforcement forces at sea, such as Fisheries Surveillance, Border Guard, Coast Guard, and Customs, have been strengthened in terms of capacity and equipment.

In particular, the Fisheries Surveillance force regularly carries out propaganda, patrolling and controlling tasks in the sea bordering Vietnam and countries in the region, promptly supporting fishermen when necessary.

GH