Hundreds of tons of goods were arranged on ship 490, carrying kumquats, peaches, dong leaves, sticky rice... along with many warm feelings from the mainland sent to the officers, soldiers and people living and working on Truong Sa archipelago. Although the Northeast monsoon intensified at the end of 2022, causing rough seas, it did not discourage the working group with its determination to bring Tet early to Truong Sa...
In the last days of 2022, Nghe An Newspaper reporters were honored to join a special working group of the Naval Region 4 Command to visit, wish a happy new year, and give gifts to soldiers and civilians on islands, island points, and military bases in the Truong Sa archipelago. The working group was deployed on 4 ships of Naval Region 4, with full supplies for long voyages in the East Sea.
Ship 490, led by Lieutenant Colonel Pham Van Tho - Deputy Political Commissar of Brigade 146, Naval Region 4 Command, is heading to the islands located in the north of the Truong Sa archipelago, namely Song Tu Tay, Da Nam, Sinh Ton Dong, Co Lin, Len Dao and Sinh Ton.
According to Senior Lieutenant Colonel Pham Van Tho, this was a special trip, bringing sentiments, beliefs, simple gifts and the breath of spring from the mainland to the officers, soldiers and people on the Truong Sa archipelago. That demonstrated the great concern of the Party, the State, the Ministry of National Defense and the people of the whole country for the sea and islands in general and the Truong Sa archipelago in particular. In particular, the working trip was carried out in unfavorable weather conditions, with a long time at sea, making the gifts to the officers, soldiers and people on the islands even more meaningful.
Before the working trip, many trucks carrying hundreds of tons of necessities and Tet gifts from agencies, organizations, localities and people from all over the country were loaded onto four ships. The main items were rice, sticky rice, sugar, milk, cooking oil, fish sauce, shampoo, soap, apricot branches, kumquat trees, and even pigs, brought to the islands to celebrate Tet. "The viewpoint of the Naval Region 4 Command is to fully prepare necessities for the soldiers and people on the Truong Sa archipelago to enjoy Spring and celebrate Tet. Ensure that celebrating Tet on the island will be the same as celebrating Tet on the mainland" - Lieutenant Colonel Tho emphasized.
In particular, participating in this working group were also some members of the Club "For the sea and islands of the homeland". These are the people who organize and mobilize to bring gifts from the mainland to the remote islands. Mr. Nguyen Quang Hai - Marketing Director of TH Group, a member of the club shared: Although this is the second time he has been to Truong Sa, each time he has had indescribable emotions. He is happy to represent the club members to bring practical gifts to the officers, soldiers and people living in Truong Sa archipelago. For him, gifts such as shampoo bottles, toothpaste boxes, milk cans, cakes, soy sauce bottles, fish sauce... on the mainland may be normal, but for the soldiers and people on the island, they are precious and very practical gifts. On this trip, in addition to 125 kumquat trees, the “For the Sea and Islands of the Homeland” Club also mobilized and donated many goods and necessities worth more than 800 million VND. TH Group also sent more than 200 cartons of milk to schools and students in island communes in Truong Sa.
On the day the ship left the port, due to the influence of the Northeast monsoon, the sea was very rough, with big waves and strong winds, as if to test those who were going to the island for the first time. At Cam Ranh military port, after the Navy Region 4 Command finished organizing the farewell ceremony for the working group to Truong Sa, at exactly 4:30 p.m., the ships simultaneously sounded their horns three times to say goodbye to the mainland and took turns to weigh anchor and leave the port. All members of the working group lined up neatly on the deck of the ship, waving goodbye to the mainland in an indescribable emotion that made everyone moved to tears.
The ship left Cam Ranh towards the sea and distant islands, carrying with it the eagerness and anticipation of the members of the delegation and the young soldiers who were working in Truong Sa for the first time. Everyone hoped to soon reach the island region at the forefront of the waves and winds, the outpost of the Fatherland. As if feeling a sacred mission, everyone tried to stay on deck until the sun gradually set, to admire the shape of the country from the sea. When the last mountain ranges of the mainland disappeared into the vast waves, they returned to their resting places.
Although we had been warned in advance, first-time sailors like us and the young soldiers in their late teens and twenties could not have imagined that seasickness would come so quickly. When the ship passed buoy 0, 4-5 meter high waves brought by the Northeast monsoon pounded the ship's hull, causing the massive ship to constantly sway and rock. At the first dinner on the ship, the group of reporters from news agencies and newspapers had 50 people but more than half were missing, especially the female reporters due to seasickness. Having experienced seasickness, we understood more about the endurance, the difficulties, hardships, and challenges that the naval officers and soldiers and those on duty in the Truong Sa archipelago had to overcome.
After 2 days and 2 nights of tireless "riding the waves", the ship 490 finally took us over 350 nautical miles to approach Song Tu Tay Island. In the dawn light, Song Tu Tay appeared proudly and vaguely in the early morning mist. Knowing that we were close to the island, although exhausted after a long journey, many people in the group rushed up to the deck to witness and record pictures of the beloved island on their first visit. However, the sunlight only appeared for a moment, then dark clouds rolled in, the sea was violently rough. "The monsoon is intensifying again, it will be difficult to approach the island like this", Captain Tran Van Nhat - Captain of ship 490 worried.
Captain Nhat, from Quynh Ngoc commune, Quynh Luu district (Nghe An), has been in the army for 15 years. For him, commanding the ship bringing the delegation to Truong Sa at the end of the year is a special honor. Because he understands that the officers, soldiers and people on Truong Sa archipelago are looking forward to the delegation every day. And above all, in the midst of the stormy sea season, ensuring a safe trip and bringing people and goods to the islands is the most important task.
As many people feared, the rough sea season made it much more difficult to get the working group and goods from ship 490 to Song Tu Tay Island. Standing on the ship, one could see the towering waves covering the channel into the port. Because Song Tu Tay is a large island, the amount of goods that need to be transported to the island is large, so the Van Hoa ship had to be used to bring goods and people into the port. Meanwhile, the narrow channel entrance, combined with the big waves, would make it unsafe to bring the ship in.
After careful consideration, finally after more than a day of waiting at anchor, the head of the working group decided to direct ship 490 to turn to Da Nam Island, located about 4 nautical miles from Song Tu Tay, and find a way to approach the island by boat to send New Year gifts to the officers and soldiers on duty there.
Da Nam Island is located in the North of Truong Sa archipelago, is one of the important islands in the archipelago. Da Nam Island is located in the Northeast - Southwest direction, at low tide there are many orphan rocks protruding from the water surface. The average height is about 0.3m. To the Southeast of the shoal there is a small lake about 600m long, 150m wide, at the lowest tide the depth of the lake is from 3-15m, becoming a place for fishermen to take shelter and anchor their boats during storms.
Transporting people and goods to Da Nam Island by boat during times of big waves and strong winds was also extremely difficult. Each boat, in addition to a crew of 3 people, could only carry about 5 people and a small amount of goods. To ensure safety, everyone in the group had to wear life jackets, and their belongings were wrapped in specialized plastic bags to avoid seawater. From the point where ship 490 anchored to Da Nam Island, it was less than 1 kilometer, but it took about 30 minutes by boat for us and the goods to reach the pier on the island. Once there, the group only had 1 hour to visit, wish a happy new year, and give gifts to the officers and soldiers on duty there, then had to return to ship 490 immediately, before the storm arrived.
After the mission to Da Nam Island was completed, we continued to return to ship 490 to anchor near Song Tu Tay and wait for the waves to calm down before we could go to the island. The waves were still big and the sea was still rough. Lieutenant Colonel Pham Van Tho occasionally ran to the command room to discuss plans to enter the island. However, Song Tu Tay Island has the highest elevation above sea level among the islands in the Truong Sa archipelago (about 4-6m). The road to the dock has many large, jagged rocks that are easy to hit, not to mention the weather of heavy rain, strong winds, and continuous strong waves, so bringing the working group to Song Tu Tay had to wait for the sea to calm down before being able to do it...
On the 5th day, the wind and waves were calmer, and the working group and supplies were able to safely reach the island.
As many naval officers and soldiers have shared, the port at Song Tu Tay Island is the most difficult port to enter among the ports in Truong Sa archipelago. During visits, work and New Year greetings to the soldiers and people on Truong Sa archipelago at the end of the year, as long as people and goods are brought safely to Song Tu Tay Island, the whole voyage is considered a success. Indeed, during the 5 days of anchoring the ship offshore, although very close to Song Tu Tay but unable to set foot on the island, we understand how difficult the road to Truong Sa, to the sacred islands at the forefront of the waves is.