By purchasing insurance for their fishing boats, fishermen are essentially providing themselves with a lifeline.
(Baonghean.vn) - Fishing is a high-risk profession; almost every year there are accidents involving boats, and many fishermen lose everything because their fishing vessels are not insured. Therefore, fishermen need to understand that buying insurance is like equipping themselves with a "lifeline."
Left penniless after the ship fire.
Fishingseafood harvestingFishing at sea requires significant investment in equipment and gear. In recent years, with the hope of venturing further out to sea to catch seafood, many fishermen have invested tens of billions of dong to acquire large ships, powerful engines, and install modern fishing support systems… in order to achieve higher catch volumes and greater seafood value.
However, this profession of sailing the sea always faces many risks from rough seas, strong winds, and other unexpected incidents. Moreover, boats can encounter risks at any time, anywhere, even when anchored ashore. Whenever a boat encounters a risk, if the owner doesn't have insurance, they lose everything. The fire that engulfed five fishing boats simultaneously on the night of July 28th is a prime example.
The serious fire simultaneously destroyed five large ships.fishermen of Quynh Luu districtThe recent fire caused damage exceeding 20 billion VND. According to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district, the 20 billion VND loss for the five ships represents depreciation after several years of operation; if calculated at the time of construction, the value would be over 30 billion VND. The initial cause of the fire, as determined by authorities, was an electrical short circuit on one ship, which then spread to the other four. As a result, all five ships were completely destroyed and beyond repair.
It was found that among the 5 animalsThe fishing boat caught fire.Recently, only one fishing vessel, license plate NA-95656-TS, owned by Tran Van Doan from Son Hai commune, had insurance. The remaining four fishing vessels did not, resulting in dozens of crew members being left penniless in an instant.
Fisherman Bui Minh Nam from Dai Bac hamlet, Quynh Long commune, who jointly invested in the fishing vessel with license plate NA 99696, built under the support policy of Decree 67/CP, said: "The total value of the vessel is over 11 billion VND. It has been in operation for 6 years now, but the ship is completely destroyed by fire, and we didn't buy fishing vessel insurance, so now I don't know what to do. For now, I'm left with nothing."
As the only owner of one of the five ships that caught fire who had insurance, fisherman Tran Van Doan from Hamlet 6, Son Hai Commune (Quynh Luu District) said that the ship, built under Decree 67/CP, had a total value of over 8 billion VND. Of this, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of North Nghe An provided a loan of 5.7 billion VND, with the remaining amount contributed by the seven crew members. After seven years of operation, they had repaid over 3.5 billion VND to the bank, and currently, they still owe 2.2 billion VND. Then, the ship was completely destroyed by the fire.
Fortunately, we had already purchased the ship beforehand.hull insuranceTherefore, they hoped to receive insurance compensation for the damage. Without hull insurance, after this ship fire, they would not only lose their means of livelihood but also have no money to repay their bank loans.
"Immediately after the boat fire, the family was guided by the local authorities and the insurance company on how to file a claim for insurance compensation according to regulations. Currently, we are waiting for some documents from the relevant authorities regarding the inspection and investigation of the fire," said fisherman Tran Van Doan.
It is important to consider purchasing insurance for fishing vessels.
Nghe An currently has 3,469 fishing vessels, with a total capacity of 654,224 horsepower (HP), of which 1,762 are over 15 meters in length. These large-capacity fishing vessels, which regularly fish far offshore, are also the most vulnerable to risks. Therefore, for greater peace of mind during fishing operations, vessel owners should proactively purchase hull insurance.
However, our investigation into the number of insured fishing vessels reveals that the number is not large compared to the total number of fishing vessels operating in the province. A representative from BSH Insurance Company's Nghe An branch stated that the number of vessel owners purchasing fishing vessel insurance each year is still low; their unit currently has only nearly 150 customers. In addition, several other companies sell fishing vessel insurance, but the number of customers purchasing insurance from them is also very small.
Mr. Tran Xuan Hoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, stated: "No matter how large a fishing vessel is, it is still very small in the vast ocean, especially during stormy seasons. Regarding fires, due to the flammable materials on board and the large amount of fuel, when a fire occurs, the flames spread very quickly, and the entire ship can be burned to ashes in just a few minutes. Therefore, there are still regrettable lessons learned from accidents at sea and horrific fires on fishing vessels."
For crew members on fishing vessels, it is mandatory for ship owners to purchase insurance, but it is not required for the hull of the vessel. Because of this, many ship owners are negligent in not purchasing vessel insurance, and when risks such as fire or sinking occur, the damage to property is severe, leaving fishermen penniless.
Insurance companies selling fishing vessels need to be attentive and responsible to their customers after accidents occur. In reality, over the years, the handling of cases involving fishing vessels at sea, even with hull insurance, has been slow or difficult, eroding trust among fishermen. Therefore, insurance companies need to demonstrate a high level of responsibility towards fishermen after they purchase insurance, building trust and providing them with a reliable support system in case of risks.
Building a large-capacity fishing vessel requires significant investment, at least several billion dong, and sometimes tens of billions of dong; whenever a fire occurs on board, fishermen suffer heavy losses. The recent serious fishing vessel fire while anchored at Lach Quen Fishing Port (Quynh Luu) once again raises the alarm about the need to pay attention to fishing vessel insurance.