Sand clogging prevents fishermen from entering sea

QUẢNG NAM — Sand is clogging Cửa Đại Seaport in the central province of Quảng Nam’s Hội An City due to the floods over the past few days, posing difficulties for thousands of local fishermen.

According to local fishermen, the incident occurred six days ago.

At present, the water level at the seaport is only 1.5-2m deep, therefore, small boats and offshore fishing vessels with high capacity are not able to access it. The normal water level for ships entering from the Cửa Đại estuary is 3.5-4m.

Lieutenant Colonel Trần Văn Ba, head of Cửa Đại border post, said Hội An City was deeply flooded, facilitating erosion along the coastline, which resulted in the seaport getting severely clogged.

The buoy systems on the sea were washed away by the floodwaters, so boats were unable to navigate a safe path, Ba said.

There are more than 1,000 boats belonging to fishermen in Hội An City, Điện Bàn Township, Duy Xuyên and Thăng Bình districts that are moored near the shore because they are unable to enter the sea. The localities have been informed of the incident.

On Sunday, local authorities found the body of a fisherman named Trần Cưỡng in Điện Bàn Township. On Saturday, Cưỡng went missing while fishing in an area some 200m away from Cửa Đại Seaport. — VNS