Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministryof Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has submitted its report to theGovernment concerning the faulty implementation of a decree to develop thecountry’s fishery sector.
The report was prepared at the request of PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc following numerous complaints by fishermen whoreported poor quality of the new fishing vessels built with loans madeavailable under the policy.
According to MARD, the problems with newly built boats in thecentral provinces of Binh Dinh and Phu Yen were due to faults of the Nam Trieuand Dai Nguyen Duong shipbuilding companies.
The two shipbuilding companies have agreed torepair and replace machines and equipment for the damaged ships within the nexttwo months, all the expenses of which will be borne by the companies.
MARD has been asked to direct the Fishing VesselRegister Centre under the Directorate ofFisheries to inspect the quality of theserepairs.
Aside from substandard quality of ships reported in Binh Dinh andPhu Yen provinces, MARD said that in Thanh Hoa province, 18 of 25 newsteel-clad ships also suffered from electricity, crane and winch malfunctions.However, most have been repaired, only two are still being held at theshipyard. Quang Nam province has 35 new steel-clad ships, 34 of which havestarted operating normally, the remaining inactive one was due to the ship-owner’sdemand to replace the main engine.
Earlier, MARD ordered 27 coastal provinces across the country toexamine the quality of new steel fishing boats.
A number of boats were found not up to the requirements foroffshore fishing.
Authorities in Binh Dinh’s neighbouring province of QuangNgai have also started to review and check all steel fishing boats followingincidents related to substandard steel vessels uncovered nationwide.
“After a series of steel vessels were found to be of poor qualityand breakdowns occurred on-shore in Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces, affectingfishing activities and fishermen’s trust, Quang Ngai decided to check all steelvessels, especially main engines,” said Director of the provincial Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development Duong Van To.
“If main engines are found to be substandard, providers mustreplace them,” To added.
The department asked shipbuilders of steel fishing boats toclosely work with ship-owners to fix problems to ensure faultless fishingactivities.
Under Decree 67 (dated July 7, 2014), ship-owners who are building steel ornew-material ships with total main engine capacity between 400CV and 800CV canborrow from commercial banks a sum of money which does not exceed 90 per centof the total costs.
The preferential interest rate is 7 percent per year, of whichship-owners are required to pay only 2 percent per year while the Statebudget would subsidise the remaining 5 percent.
According to MARD’s report, under decree No 67 on fisherydevelopment, by the end of May, loan requests of 1,948 eligible ship-ownershave been approved: 1,510 requests are for building new ships (619 of which aresteel-hulled vessels) and 438 loans are to upgrade existing vessels.
More than 980 ship-owners have signed credit contracts withcommercial banks for total loans of 9.71 trillion VND (427.3 million USD), 8.78trillion VND (386 million USD) or 90 percent of which has been disbursed.
By the end of May, 666 ships, including 622fishing vessels (297 steel-hulled, 347 wooden-clad, and 22 composite-hulled vessels)and 44 logistics ships, have been completed.-VNA
The report was prepared at the request of PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc following numerous complaints by fishermen whoreported poor quality of the new fishing vessels built with loans madeavailable under the policy.
According to MARD, the problems with newly built boats in thecentral provinces of Binh Dinh and Phu Yen were due to faults of the Nam Trieuand Dai Nguyen Duong shipbuilding companies.
The two shipbuilding companies have agreed torepair and replace machines and equipment for the damaged ships within the nexttwo months, all the expenses of which will be borne by the companies.
MARD has been asked to direct the Fishing VesselRegister Centre under the Directorate ofFisheries to inspect the quality of theserepairs.
Aside from substandard quality of ships reported in Binh Dinh andPhu Yen provinces, MARD said that in Thanh Hoa province, 18 of 25 newsteel-clad ships also suffered from electricity, crane and winch malfunctions.However, most have been repaired, only two are still being held at theshipyard. Quang Nam province has 35 new steel-clad ships, 34 of which havestarted operating normally, the remaining inactive one was due to the ship-owner’sdemand to replace the main engine.
Earlier, MARD ordered 27 coastal provinces across the country toexamine the quality of new steel fishing boats.
A number of boats were found not up to the requirements foroffshore fishing.
Authorities in Binh Dinh’s neighbouring province of QuangNgai have also started to review and check all steel fishing boats followingincidents related to substandard steel vessels uncovered nationwide.
“After a series of steel vessels were found to be of poor qualityand breakdowns occurred on-shore in Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces, affectingfishing activities and fishermen’s trust, Quang Ngai decided to check all steelvessels, especially main engines,” said Director of the provincial Departmentof Agriculture and Rural Development Duong Van To.
“If main engines are found to be substandard, providers mustreplace them,” To added.
The department asked shipbuilders of steel fishing boats toclosely work with ship-owners to fix problems to ensure faultless fishingactivities.
Under Decree 67 (dated July 7, 2014), ship-owners who are building steel ornew-material ships with total main engine capacity between 400CV and 800CV canborrow from commercial banks a sum of money which does not exceed 90 per centof the total costs.
The preferential interest rate is 7 percent per year, of whichship-owners are required to pay only 2 percent per year while the Statebudget would subsidise the remaining 5 percent.
According to MARD’s report, under decree No 67 on fisherydevelopment, by the end of May, loan requests of 1,948 eligible ship-ownershave been approved: 1,510 requests are for building new ships (619 of which aresteel-hulled vessels) and 438 loans are to upgrade existing vessels.
More than 980 ship-owners have signed credit contracts withcommercial banks for total loans of 9.71 trillion VND (427.3 million USD), 8.78trillion VND (386 million USD) or 90 percent of which has been disbursed.
By the end of May, 666 ships, including 622fishing vessels (297 steel-hulled, 347 wooden-clad, and 22 composite-hulled vessels)and 44 logistics ships, have been completed.-VNA
VNA