As much as 99% of fishing ships owned by fishermen in Vietnam have wooden hulls, posing high risk of accidents, one official said.
Modern fishing vessels are a priority
Nguyen Ngoc Oai, Director of the Vietnam’s Fisheries General Department's Aquatic Resource Protection and Exploitation Division, said on December 25 that only a few number of fishing ships have steel or composite hulls.
According to Oai, the country had a total of around 124,500 fishing ships. Of that total, nearly 26,500 ships had an engine capacity of more than 90 CV; and 75% with less than 50 CV capacity engines. Only 300 fishing ships measured over 24 metres.
Around 23,000 ships are operating offshore but a modest number of them are equipped with modern facilities.
Only a half of the total ships were equipped with lifebuoys and hull protecting equipment. Nearly 15% of ships were equipped with long distance communication devices and from 30%-35% with location devices, he added.
Upgrading needed
In order to ensure safety, the government has approved a programme to pilot upgrading offshore wooden-hulled ships to metal in Quang Ngai Province’s Ly Son Island District.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, in order to upgrade the country’s fishing fleet, it’s necessary to change ship building construction materials.
The ministry said that the traditional building of wooden ships has led to the uncontrollable deforestation in many localities, adding to climate change and serious flooding in the low land areas.
With support from the government, Vinashin Business Group (Vinashin) signed contracts with authorities in Quang Ngai to pilot the construction of 22 metal hulled fishing boats with a horsepower of from 400-80 and logistics vessels with capacity of 1,000 horsepower. The construction estimated to cost a combined VND120 billion (over USD5.7 million).
The project will benefit fishermen in Ly Son and the coastal districts of Binh Son, Tu Nghia, and Duc Pho. The first new fishing vessels are expected to enter service by the end of this year.
After the Ly Son pilot, the model will be expanded into 28 other cities and provinces nationwide, but costs will remain a concern.
A wooden fishing boat maker in Tien Giang Province’s My Tho City estimated that it currently costs from VND3.2-3.5 billion (USD153.3-167.7 million) to build a wooden-hulled fishing ships, while metal-hulled ships cost over VND4.5 billion (USD215.6 million), according to the Vinashin.
Maintenance of steel-hulled ships also costs more.
Huynh Huu Tri, Deputy Director of Tien Giang Provincial Department of Fisheries said wooden boats can continuously operate on the sea and only need maintenance once a year while metal-hulled ships need maintenance twice yearly, driving up fishing costs.
