Many tourist boats in Khanh Hoa Province’s Nha Trang Bay have continued to operate despite local authority warnings about bad weather.

According to the bay management board, on December 17, 29 Russian tourists were rescued after their boat sunk near the bay's Hon Mun Island. Although the boat operator had received warnings about bad weather due to a possible storm, the trip had still taken place. As a result, the boat’s engine cut off near Hon Mun Island two hours later, and it began to take on water. Fortunately, border guards quickly came to the rescue after receiving a distress call.

Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy head of Khanh Hoa Province's Tourism Association, said this was not the first time such an accident have happened in Nha Trang Bay. Tourism boat KH0088 also recently sunk in the bay.

Truong Kinh, head of Nha Trang Bay's management board, said the agency often warned local tourist boats of latent risks if carrying passengers amid rough seas and strong winds, particularly around Hon Mun and Hon Mot islands where there is very deep water and large waves.

Kinh added the board was only responsible for issuing weather warnings, not checking the quality of the boats.

Vo Duy Quy, director of Register Branch Office 5 under Vietnam Register, said that owners apply for their boats, so, when the registration licence expires, they have to re-register. In reality, registration agencies rarely know which boats have valid registration. According to Quy, over 100 tourist boats and canoes have been registered.

A local travel company which specialises in transporting tourists to Nha Trang Bay said that they know that it was better not to operate its boats in bad weather, but they did not want to disappoint booked tours. There are currently no legally-enforceable bans based on weather warnings.