From the Green Bay 58 capsize...

Early in the morning of a day in late July 2025, at Ninh Kieu tourist wharf, Can Tho city, hundreds of people were preparing to leave the wharf to visit Cai Rang floating market. Dozens of passenger boats carrying 15-40 people each were parked tightly at the wharf. A male tour guide standing on the shore reminded: Life jackets, wear life jackets! Did you see the boat capsize in Ha Long Bay? At the Cua Lon river ferry wharf (Nam Can commune, Ca Mau), almost no passengers getting on and off the ferry were wearing life jackets.

Editor's note : The incident of the Green Bay 58 QN-7105 boat carrying 49 tourists capsized in the middle of Ha Long Bay ( Quang Ninh province) on July 19, causing a stir in public opinion. In just a split second, 36 people "left without a return date", 3 people went missing. In order to sound the alarm about water and road accidents during the rainy and stormy season, a group of reporters from SGGP Newspaper returned to the wharves and roads that are traffic "black spots" to record solutions to ensure safety for people and property.

Rescue equipment must be more modern.

At the Ninh Kieu wharf, there are still small boats carrying individual tourists (3-4 people/boat). This type of boat is regulated to carry less than 4 passengers. There were 3 young people renting a boat to go to the floating market, the middle-aged woman who owned the boat carefully gave the 3 young people life jackets to wear. The boat started the engine, leaving the wharf and speeding towards Cai Rang floating market, but this "female pilot" was not wearing a life jacket.

Can Tho City currently has 662 inland waterway ports. According to Mr. Nguyen Dang Khoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Can Tho City, tourist boats with more than 30 people operating at Ninh Kieu tourist wharf are granted license plates by the department to operate. To be granted license plates, the boat must meet the necessary conditions such as: inspection, equipped with life buoys, fire extinguishers, medical cabinets, walkie-talkies, and the operator must have a license to serve tourist boats.

Regarding some small boat owners carrying tourists (3-4 people/boat), who do not comply with wearing life jackets when visiting Cai Rang floating market and some eco-tourism spots..., the department will closely coordinate with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Can Tho City to strengthen inspections and remind those carrying tourists to comply with regulations on water traffic safety. Vehicle owners must be equipped with life jackets, life-saving buoyancy and rescue equipment...

Tourists wear life jackets while on a tourist boat at Ninh Kieu wharf, Can Tho. Photo: Cao Phong

In Phu Quoc special zone, An Giang province, there are more than 80 large-capacity canoes serving to pick up and drop off tourists to visit the island; more than 70 motorized vehicles operating to transport tourists... However, most of these vehicles do not have a dock operating according to regulations. Present at the embankment area of Bach Dang park (old Duong Dong ward) on a day at the end of July 2025, we saw some boats organizing to pick up and drop off tourists, although this is not a pier.

“Every few days, there are boats picking up and dropping off tourists along the embankment. Some boats carry Western tourists but are not equipped with life jackets, which is very dangerous. This situation has existed for many years but authorities rarely check, warn, or handle it,” said Mr. Thanh, who lives near Bach Dang Park.

At the end of the country, at the Cua Lon river ferry terminal (connecting Tan An and Nam Can communes, Ca Mau province), passengers getting on and off the ferry are almost all not wearing life jackets. The situation is similar to many other ferry terminals across the river in Ca Mau province. When asked why he did not wear a life jacket on the ferry, Mr. Le Minh Tan (a passenger on the ferry, Nam Can commune, Ca Mau province) said: It is inconvenient because the time on the ferry across the river is short!

According to Mr. Vu Khang Cuong, Head of the Department of Ship and Crew Registration (Vietnam Maritime Administration), in our country there are currently a large number of cruise ships operating along the coast. However, according to current regulations, these ships are not required to be equipped with signaling devices or advanced rescue positioning systems. Small cruise ships operating near shore are mainly equipped with VHF radios, flares, sirens and basic life-saving equipment. These devices will have many limitations in case of emergency, when the crew does not have time to send signals. In case of extreme weather, rescue agencies will have difficulty determining the location of the ship in distress.

Mr. Vu Khang Cuong suggested that, after the incident of the Green Bay 58 tourist ship, management agencies and authorities need to review standards and regulations on safety equipment on ships and cruise ships, including strict and specific regulations on cases requiring the installation of more modern distress signal devices.

Explaining why the ship Vinh Xanh 58 sank at 1:30 p.m. and was only rescued about 2 hours later, Mr. Vu Manh Long, Director of the Port Authority of Waterways and Inland Waterway Vehicles Registration of Quang Ninh Province (Department of Construction of Quang Ninh Province), said that currently, tourist boats operating in Ha Long Bay are still managed by the port authority using the GPS positioning system and Zalo groups.

However, the GPS positioning system still has to use the telephone network to operate, so in low-lying areas and depressions in the bay, where the telecommunications network cannot cover all, there is a loss of GPS signal and emergency signals cannot be sent.

Marine warning and rescue ecosystem

Regarding the warning process and instructions for ships to handle unusual weather phenomena, according to Mr. Bui Hong Minh, Deputy Director of the Quang Ninh Department of Construction, when receiving information about storms and adverse weather, the captains will immediately receive the information, then deploy to bring the ship to a safe shelter and instruct passengers on board to be proactive when encountering an incident.

“We will review the process to have more specific instructions in each situation, helping captains to be more proactive and not confused when encountering problems,” said Mr. Bui Hong Minh.

A boat carrying passengers without life jackets at Cai Rang floating market, Can Tho. Photo: Cao Phong

Meanwhile, Mr. Pham Ha, Chairman of Lux Group, a luxury cruise operator (in bays such as Ha Long, Lan Ha, Nha Trang), frankly pointed out a serious loophole: When an incident occurs, who is responsible for reporting the news? Who is in charge of the rescue? In an emergency situation, if there is no consistent coordination mechanism, many parties participating but not reaching an agreement will only delay the golden time to save people.

According to Mr. Pham Ha, the maritime industry, especially water tourism, is decades behind aviation in the application of technology. While airplanes are controlled every second from “air traffic stations”, many cruise ships still “operate on their own”.

In fact, today’s AIS and GPS positioning technology makes it possible to set up a centralized control system where every vessel acts as a “green dot” on a large screen. If a vessel is in distress, the system automatically issues an alert, triggering a rescue procedure: speedboats, medical equipment, and even helicopters can be deployed within 5 minutes.

The problem is not technical capacity, but management thinking and delays in application. While 4.0 technology is developing rapidly, weather forecasts in coastal areas are still broadcast at fixed times, and the content does not differentiate between geographical areas and types of vessels.

Mr. Pham Ha believes that it is time for a real “meteorological warning ecosystem”, not just a forecast bulletin, but a warning network customized to the user: from wooden fishing boats to 5-star steel-hulled yachts. Each type of vehicle has a different level of risk, requiring separate warning thresholds. Relevant ministries and sectors need to develop a set of specific criteria according to length, load, material, and function of the vessel as a basis for allowing operations according to sea areas and weather. This is a transparent and practical way of governance, aiming to protect lives and the reputation of the marine tourism industry.

Safety measures at sea

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has just issued guidelines on skills to ensure safety for boats when traveling, operating and anchoring to avoid storms, as well as skills to escape when a ship sinks. Accordingly, in the event of a ship sinking, underwater survival skills can be applied such as: exhaling and diving down, bending to gain momentum and then jumping up to catch your breath; or kicking straight, bending your chest, and breathing deeply in rhythm to stay afloat; or turning around, taking a deep breath through your mouth and then slowly exhaling to maintain your breathing and stay calm.

According to Mr. Pham Duc Luan, Director of the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention, in the East Sea, ships need to pay special attention to two main dangerous periods: the storm season (from June to November) and the Northeast monsoon (from October to March of the following year). Therefore, before setting sail, it is necessary to closely monitor the marine weather forecast, fully equip with navigation and life-saving equipment and ensure uninterrupted communication with the mainland.

PV GROUP

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tu-vu-lat-tau-vinh-xanh-58-post805325.html