Fishermen in some coastal provinces have recently been provided withloans to build steel-hulled boats. Steel shells with high loadcapacity not only ensure safety for fishermen at sea and help increaseproductivity and quality of fishing activities, but also encouragefishermen to head their vessels to traditional fishing grounds, firmlyasserting and protecting Vietnam’s sovereignty over its seas andislands, according to online Nhan Dan newspaper.
In asweltering afternoon, fishing boats of fishermen in Tam Quan Baccommune, Hoai Nhon district (Binh Dinh province), bringing loads oftuna, queued up to dock after their long offshore fishing journeys.
Wipingthe sweat from his tanned face, fisherman Nguyen Van Minh, owner ofBD-95270 vessel, urged his crew to unload fish for the warehouse andsaid: “It becomes harder nowadays for fishing activities with harshweather, erratic rains and storms, varied catches and uncertain prices.I'm very glad to hear that the State has offered loans to fishermen tobuild steel shells. Steel-hulled ships are more durable and safer forlong voyages, and surely productivity will be much higher thanks to theapplication of new technologies.”
Vietnam possesses huge marineadvantages, with a coastline of over 3,000 km and an exclusive economiczone of over one million square kilometres, yet offshore fishing isstill poorly developed and mainly operated on manpower.
Of morethan 130,000 fishing boats operating across the nation, up to 99 percentof them are wood hull ships with small capacity, short sailing times,vulnerable to collisions and lacking good seafood preservationtechnologies. Thus, the Government’s 16 trillion VND (752 million USD)credit package pouring into the fishing industry, paving the way toreplace 3,000 wood-hulled vessels with steel ones, has received positiveresponse from the society.
This will be an important boost toshift the sector to a modern focus with high-tech applications. It isexpected to support fishermen to develop production and facilitate themarine economy, as well as contributing to protecting nationalsovereignty over seas and islands.
Business Director Pham BinhMinh at Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) said that in comparisonwith wooden-hulled ships, steel was more durable. They are styled toachieve optimum operation, allowing them to travel at higher speed whilemaking them fuel efficient.
The hulls are divided into separatewatertight compartments, allowing the ships to bring more resources,fuel and fresh water. Standard freezer chambers in the ships helppreserve seafood. Steel-hulled ships are capable of withstanding windsup to Force 9 on the Beaufort scale, while wooden ships can only endurewind speeds of Force 6-7. According to calculations, the cost for asteel ship is 50-60 percent higher than but steel-hulled ships bringlong-term economic benefits.
Steel hull ships have many advantages; however, fishermen still have many concerns.
FishermenBui Thanh Ninh in Thien Chanh 2 hamlet, (Tam Quan Bac commune)wondered: "Prior to now, we only use our traditional experiences tocatch fish. Now, with steel-hulled ships and a range of newtechnologies, it will take time for us to get familiar with theseadvances. Importantly, how and where we can send steel-hulled ships formaintenance?”
In response to this, Director Le Quang Lam of NhaTrang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd said that to build a ship that matchesfishermen's requirements and fishing traditions, the company regularlyconsulted fishermen from each step of design and construction processesfor timely adjustments.
Ship owners can join and oversee theshipbuilding processes, right from the first step, to understand thebasic features of the ship. In particular, fishermen can also source andorder engines and other machinery for their ships, ensuring they haveall necessary certification.
Then the trial run for the ship isalso a training course, providing future ship owners with detailedinstructions on handling techniques, fishing, and coping with andrepairing simple failures.
Regarding maintenance, ships built bySBIC will be given a one-year factory warranty. All other steel fishingvessels can be sent to any plant of 18 units under the SBIC across thenation for maintenance and repair.
An offshore fishingprogramme launched by the Government in 1997 placed the very firstfoundation to encourage fishermen nationwide to go offshore fishing.
FishermanPhan Trong Nghiep in Hoai Huong commune, Hoai Nhon district of BinhDinh province said: “Previously, Binh Dinh fishermen mainly conductedinshore fishing. Once heading to the sea, we could only go as long as5-10 hours. Thanks to timely support from the programme, the offshorefishing movement of Binh Dinh fishermen has been widely developed. Now,each fishing trip lasts more than 20 days, reaching as far as 120nautical miles.”
With such experiences in deploying theprogramme, a range of fisheries development policies to be issued in thefuture demonstrate the Party and State’s attention to assistingfishermen in increasing catching yields, enhancing economic efficiency,and creating confidence for fishermen when going offshore andmaintaining national maritime sovereignty.
In fact, capital forsteel ship building is still large compared to the ability of mostfishermen to afford them, requiring more preferential policies tosupport them.
Fisherman Le Ngoc Son in Quang Phu commune, QuangTrach district (Quang Binh province) said: “If the Government couldexempt the value-added tax for loans from the package, it would beenough for us to invest in additional equipment for our new ships.”
Inorder to effectively implement the package, in addition to removingobstacles in credit mechanisms, it is necessary to apply differenttimely solutions to support fishermen, including building steel shipsthat are designed to suit each fishing purpose and fishermen's capacity.
SBICChairman Nguyen Ngoc Su said that SBIC has prepared 10 models ofsteel-hulled vessels in the most appropriate design for differentfishing sectors and they are continuously improved. SBIC also plans todesign various ship models to suit the customs of each region. Thecorporation can immediately engage in mass production of suchshipbuilding models, once appropriate mechanisms are issued.
Dueto a reduction in costs from design to material procurement,steel-hulled ship prices will be much lower. In addition, a number ofdevices such as propellers and anchor winches can be produced by unitsunder the SBIC, helping lower the costs and raising the localisationrate of steel-hulled ship production.
Offshore fishing vesselswhen on journey should operate in groups and teams to support each otherand raise fishing efficiency. Each locality should develop plans andallocate budgets for developing ports and logistics and wideningwaterways.
It is also important to encourage the building oflogistical vessels supplying necessities and purchasing products fromoffshore fishing boats, to facilitate fishermen during long journeys.
In asweltering afternoon, fishing boats of fishermen in Tam Quan Baccommune, Hoai Nhon district (Binh Dinh province), bringing loads oftuna, queued up to dock after their long offshore fishing journeys.
Wipingthe sweat from his tanned face, fisherman Nguyen Van Minh, owner ofBD-95270 vessel, urged his crew to unload fish for the warehouse andsaid: “It becomes harder nowadays for fishing activities with harshweather, erratic rains and storms, varied catches and uncertain prices.I'm very glad to hear that the State has offered loans to fishermen tobuild steel shells. Steel-hulled ships are more durable and safer forlong voyages, and surely productivity will be much higher thanks to theapplication of new technologies.”
Vietnam possesses huge marineadvantages, with a coastline of over 3,000 km and an exclusive economiczone of over one million square kilometres, yet offshore fishing isstill poorly developed and mainly operated on manpower.
Of morethan 130,000 fishing boats operating across the nation, up to 99 percentof them are wood hull ships with small capacity, short sailing times,vulnerable to collisions and lacking good seafood preservationtechnologies. Thus, the Government’s 16 trillion VND (752 million USD)credit package pouring into the fishing industry, paving the way toreplace 3,000 wood-hulled vessels with steel ones, has received positiveresponse from the society.
This will be an important boost toshift the sector to a modern focus with high-tech applications. It isexpected to support fishermen to develop production and facilitate themarine economy, as well as contributing to protecting nationalsovereignty over seas and islands.
Business Director Pham BinhMinh at Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC) said that in comparisonwith wooden-hulled ships, steel was more durable. They are styled toachieve optimum operation, allowing them to travel at higher speed whilemaking them fuel efficient.
The hulls are divided into separatewatertight compartments, allowing the ships to bring more resources,fuel and fresh water. Standard freezer chambers in the ships helppreserve seafood. Steel-hulled ships are capable of withstanding windsup to Force 9 on the Beaufort scale, while wooden ships can only endurewind speeds of Force 6-7. According to calculations, the cost for asteel ship is 50-60 percent higher than but steel-hulled ships bringlong-term economic benefits.
Steel hull ships have many advantages; however, fishermen still have many concerns.
FishermenBui Thanh Ninh in Thien Chanh 2 hamlet, (Tam Quan Bac commune)wondered: "Prior to now, we only use our traditional experiences tocatch fish. Now, with steel-hulled ships and a range of newtechnologies, it will take time for us to get familiar with theseadvances. Importantly, how and where we can send steel-hulled ships formaintenance?”
In response to this, Director Le Quang Lam of NhaTrang Shipbuilding Co., Ltd said that to build a ship that matchesfishermen's requirements and fishing traditions, the company regularlyconsulted fishermen from each step of design and construction processesfor timely adjustments.
Ship owners can join and oversee theshipbuilding processes, right from the first step, to understand thebasic features of the ship. In particular, fishermen can also source andorder engines and other machinery for their ships, ensuring they haveall necessary certification.
Then the trial run for the ship isalso a training course, providing future ship owners with detailedinstructions on handling techniques, fishing, and coping with andrepairing simple failures.
Regarding maintenance, ships built bySBIC will be given a one-year factory warranty. All other steel fishingvessels can be sent to any plant of 18 units under the SBIC across thenation for maintenance and repair.
An offshore fishingprogramme launched by the Government in 1997 placed the very firstfoundation to encourage fishermen nationwide to go offshore fishing.
FishermanPhan Trong Nghiep in Hoai Huong commune, Hoai Nhon district of BinhDinh province said: “Previously, Binh Dinh fishermen mainly conductedinshore fishing. Once heading to the sea, we could only go as long as5-10 hours. Thanks to timely support from the programme, the offshorefishing movement of Binh Dinh fishermen has been widely developed. Now,each fishing trip lasts more than 20 days, reaching as far as 120nautical miles.”
With such experiences in deploying theprogramme, a range of fisheries development policies to be issued in thefuture demonstrate the Party and State’s attention to assistingfishermen in increasing catching yields, enhancing economic efficiency,and creating confidence for fishermen when going offshore andmaintaining national maritime sovereignty.
In fact, capital forsteel ship building is still large compared to the ability of mostfishermen to afford them, requiring more preferential policies tosupport them.
Fisherman Le Ngoc Son in Quang Phu commune, QuangTrach district (Quang Binh province) said: “If the Government couldexempt the value-added tax for loans from the package, it would beenough for us to invest in additional equipment for our new ships.”
Inorder to effectively implement the package, in addition to removingobstacles in credit mechanisms, it is necessary to apply differenttimely solutions to support fishermen, including building steel shipsthat are designed to suit each fishing purpose and fishermen's capacity.
SBICChairman Nguyen Ngoc Su said that SBIC has prepared 10 models ofsteel-hulled vessels in the most appropriate design for differentfishing sectors and they are continuously improved. SBIC also plans todesign various ship models to suit the customs of each region. Thecorporation can immediately engage in mass production of suchshipbuilding models, once appropriate mechanisms are issued.
Dueto a reduction in costs from design to material procurement,steel-hulled ship prices will be much lower. In addition, a number ofdevices such as propellers and anchor winches can be produced by unitsunder the SBIC, helping lower the costs and raising the localisationrate of steel-hulled ship production.
Offshore fishing vesselswhen on journey should operate in groups and teams to support each otherand raise fishing efficiency. Each locality should develop plans andallocate budgets for developing ports and logistics and wideningwaterways.
It is also important to encourage the building oflogistical vessels supplying necessities and purchasing products fromoffshore fishing boats, to facilitate fishermen during long journeys.
