All Ha Long cruise tours suspended to avoid storm

(Dan Tri) - From July 20, all tourist boats operating in Ha Long Bay have been temporarily suspended from leaving port to ensure safety against storm WIPHA.

On July 20, due to the complicated developments of storm WIPHA, the Waterway Port Authority and the Inland Waterway Vehicle Registration Authority issued an urgent dispatch on the temporary suspension of granting permission to leave ports and wharves for passenger transport vehicles in Quang Ninh province.

Rescue work on the sunken tourist boat took place overnight (Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper).

According to the document, from July 20, all tourist boats operating in Ha Long Bay, as well as boats transporting passengers to and from islands, will temporarily stop being granted permission to leave port to ensure absolute safety for passengers, crew and vehicles.

For vehicles returning to the mainland to drop off passengers, licenses will continue to be issued. The Waterway Port Authority and the Inland Waterway Vehicle Registration Authority require relevant units to continue to closely monitor weather developments through official hydrometeorological forecasts.

Speaking with Dan Tri reporter, Mr. Bui Cong Hoan, Vice President of Ha Long Tourist Boat Association, said that the suspension of Ha Long cruise tours from the morning of July 20 will last at least until July 22.

"On the afternoon and night of July 21, the wind will just start to enter the Gulf of Tonkin, so the ship will definitely have to rest until the end of July 22," Mr. Hoan informed.

From July 20, all tourist boats operating in Ha Long Bay have been temporarily suspended from leaving port to ensure safety (Illustration: Booking).

According to Mr. Hoan, when the ship was given the order to leave the port, the weather in Ha Long was forecast to be at level 2-3, which is stable. According to regulations, if the weather is level 5 or higher, the cruise ship will be temporarily suspended from being licensed.

Mr. Hoan also emphasized that all the cruise ships currently operating in Ha Long are designed according to standards, with strict supervision from the design stage to shipbuilding, load testing, and long-distance testing. If they do not meet the standards, they will never be allowed to be put into operation.

Ship design and approval are the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and local classification offices.

“The information that the Green Bay 58 ship – a faulty design – led to the recent ship capsizing is completely false. Spreading false information not only confuses public opinion but also affects the reputation of the tourism industry,” he added.

When reporters contacted several cruise lines operating tours in Ha Long Bay, representatives of several units said they had received information about the directive to stop cruise tours from the morning of July 20.

"We are still closely following information from authorities and hydrometeorological agencies about the weather situation. The safety of tourists must be put first," said a representative of a cruise line.

Previously, Mr. Mai Van Khiem, director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, also confirmed that "the thunderstorm on the afternoon of July 19 in Quang Ninh, Hanoi and many other northern provinces was not caused by the circulation of storm No. 3".

The ship Blue Bay 58, license plate QN-7105, departed from Ha Long International Passenger Port to visit Ha Long Bay.

The ship was carrying 46 passengers, all Vietnamese, and 3 crew members.

As of the morning of July 20, rescue forces had rescued 10 people and recovered 35 bodies.

Four people are still missing.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/tam-dung-toan-bo-tour-du-thuyen-ha-long-de-tranh-bao-20250720105626497.htm