Due to budget constraints, concerned agencies can only control traffic on 45 percent of the 42,000 km of rivers and canals in the country, Transport Minister Dinh La Thang has admitted.

>> Nine missing as motorboat sinks off HCMC The figure was disclosed when the minister presented to the National Assembly (NA) the proposed amendments to the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic at the 20th meeting of the NA Standing Committee on August 12. Many members of the Committee voiced their concerns about the alarming situation of waterway traffic, citing the recent serious accident off Ho Chi Minh City’s Can Gio District that killed nine passengers on August 2.         “The country has more than 80,500 km of rivers and canals, of which nearly 42,000 km are involved in the waterway system. However, only 19,000 km of the system are under management of traffic authorities because of a lack of budget to pay for relevant expenses,” the minister said.

This means that traffic on the remaining 23,000 km of the rivers and canals is not controlled, so when accidents occur on these routes, concerned agencies find it difficult to handle them, Thang said.

Another alarming figure was released by Pham Xuan Dung, chairman of the NA’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment: only 34 percent of waterway means of transport are registered, and only 61 percent of them undergo quality inspections.

Currently, waterway means of transport are strongly developed, with most vessels having a capacity of 200-1,000 tons, and some even 2,000 tons, but most lack equipment like telecom systems, sea charts, radar, and global stationing systems.

“Recently many boats have sunk, causing great damage in life and property. These deadly have accidents exposed weaknesses and inadequacies in search and rescue activities and poor coordination between concerned agencies,” Dung said.

He also demanded that the management of vessels engaged in inland waterway passenger transportation must be strengthened as soon as possible, adding that concerned agencies should take measures to enhance traffic safety awareness in waterway transportation.

Numerous violations “Only people who participate in waterway traffic can see the many things that violate prevailing regulations, such as houses built right on the edge of rivers or canals,  many unregistered vessels taking part in passenger transport, and pilots or steersmen without required qualifications,” said Ksor Phuoc, chairman of the NA’s Ethnic Council, commented.

Nguyen Van Giau, chairman of the NA’s Economic Committee, who is a native of Gieng Isle, Cho Moi District, An Giang Province, said there are nine ferry crossings operating randomly on his way home.

The vessels at these crossings do not meet safety requirements and are poorly equipped, so it is very dangerous for passengers, Giau warned, asking that regulations on vessel safety must be tightened and inspections of law compliance must be strengthened.    Regarding life jackets on passenger boats, Phuoc said, “I have taken many trips to Mekong Delta provinces on motorboats but I have never been asked to wear a life jacket and I did not know where the jackets were on the boats.”

He also blamed overloading for waterway accidents. “In the sinking of a motorboat off Can Gio early this month, the vessel was carrying as many as 31 people, while it is designed to accommodate only 10 people. And as a result, when it sank, there were not enough life jackets for all the passengers. Eventually nine passengers were swept away and died.””

Minister Thang said all the above opinions would be considered to be added to the proposed amendment to the above Law, which will be submitted to the NA for approval by the end of this year.