HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has submitted its report to the Government concerning the faulty implementation of a decree to develop the country’s fisheries.
The report was prepared on the orders of Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc following numerous complaints by fisherman who reported poor quality of the new fishing vessels built with loans made available under the policy.
According to MARD, the problems with newly built boats in the central provinces of Bình Định and Phú Yên were due to faults of the Nam Triệu and Đại Nguyên Dương shipbuilding companies.
The two shipbuilding companies have agreed to repair and replace machines and equipment for the damaged ships within the next two months, all the expenses of which will be borne by the companies.
MARD has been asked to direct the Fishing Vessel Register Centre under the Directorate of Fisheries to inspect the quality of these repairs.
Aside from substandard quality of ships reported in Bình Định and Phú Yên provinces, MARD said that in Thanh Hoá province, 18 of 25 new steel-clad ships also suffered from electricity, crane and winch malfunctions. However, most have been repaired, only two are still being held at the shipyard. Quảng Nam Province has 35 new steel-clad ships, 34 of which have started operating normally, the remaining inactive one was due to the shipowner’s demand to replace the main engine.
Earlier, MARD ordered 27 coastal provinces across the country to examine the quality of new steel fishing boats.
A number of boats were found not up to the requirements for offshore fishing.
Authorities in Bình Định’s neighbouring province of Quảng Ngãi have also started to review and check all steel fishing boats following incidents related to substandard steel vessels uncovered nationwide.
“After a series of steel vessels were found to be of poor quality and breakdowns occurred on-shore in Bình Định and Phú Yên provinces, affecting fishing activities and fishermen’s trust, Quảng Ngãi decided to check all steel vessels, especially main engines,” said Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Dương Văn Tô.
“If main engines are found to be substandard, providers must replace them,” Tô added.
The department asked shipbuilders of steel fishing boats to closely work with shipowners to fix problems to ensure faultless fishing activities. — VNS
|
Under Decree 67 (dated July 7, 2014), shipowners who are building steel or new-material ships with total main engine capacity between 400CV and 800CV can borrow from commercial banks a sum of money which does not exceed 90 per cent of the total costs.
The preferential interest rate is 7 per cent per year, of which shipowners are required to pay only 2 per cent per year while the State budget would subsidise the remaining 5 per cent.
According to Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s report, under decree No 67 on fisheries development, by the end of May, loan requests of 1,948 eligible shipowners have been approved: 1,510 requests are for building new ships (619 of which are steel-hulled vessels) and 438 loans are to upgrade existing vessels.
More than 980 shipowners have signed credit contracts with commercial banks for total loans of VNĐ9.71 trillion (US$427.3 million), VNĐ8.78 trillion ($386 million) or 90 per cent of which has been disbursed.
By the end of May, 666 ships – 622 fishing vessels (297 steel-hulled, 347 wooden-clad, and 22 composite-hulled vessels) and 44 logistics ships – have been completed. |
