Introducing Vietnam’s fast ferry crew tasked with servicing US aircraft carriers
Monday, March 23, 2020, 21:51 GMT+7
A Vietnamese fast ferry crew has had the honor of being chosen twice by the United States Navy for the reception of two U.S. aircraft carriers visiting Da Nang City in central Vietnam.
The crew, comprising 15 members, is part of the Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered Greenlines DP fast ferry company.
They operated two fast ferries Greenlines DP K7 and Greenlines DP C9, which welcomed two U.S. aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Theodore Roosevelt to Da Nang in March 2018 and earlier this month, respectively, alongside tens of speedboats run by other companies.
As the two huge warships had to be docked about four nautical miles off Da Nang, the Vietnamese fast ferries were deployed to transport thousands of people between the shore and the ships’ anchored location.
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| The Greenlines DP C9 fast ferry is seen near the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt off the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, March 2020. Photo: B.D. / Tuoi Tre |
According to Greenlines DP’s general director Tran Song Hai, the Greenlines DP K7 and Greenlines DP C9 were qualified for their safety as they were built by a shipbuilder managed by the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, though they are not the two most powerful and modern fast ferries of the company.
“It was not easy to be chosen,” Hai said, adding that gaining the U.S. Navy’s satisfaction after completing the task was even more difficult.
Greenlines DP K7’s captain Le Ba Minh told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the crew members of the two fast ferries had been selected and undergone months of preparation prior to each U.S. aircraft carrier’s arrival in Da Nang.
During the aircraft carriers’ stays, the 15 crew members were not allowed to leave the fast ferries so that they could concentrate on their assigned tasks.
The U.S. naval force also carried out both planned and unscheduled inspections during their visits.
“We worked three or four times more than usual and had only a few hours at night to rest. It was very exhausting but also an honor,” said captain Minh as he recalled his latest reception for the USS Theodore Roosevelt, which visited Da Nang from March 5 to 9.
Despite having had experience from the last visit of the USS Carl Vinson in March 2018, the 48-year-old Vietnamese captain and his crew still encountered several difficulties this time around.
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| People disembark from a Greenlines DP fast ferry in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang, March 2020. Photo: T.S.H. / Tuoi Tre |
The rough sea made it so hard to embark or disembark the giant aircraft carrier that a number of visits had to be canceled.
The situation lasted until the third day of the visit.
The most memorable trip to the crew members was probably the one conducted at nearly midnight on March 5.
It was 11:00 pm that day that Greenlines DP K7’s crew was informed that some seamen from the USS Theodore Roosevelt had yet to be taken onshore.
In spite of the high waves, captain Minh ordered his crew to turn the Greenlines DP K7 back to the USS Theodore Roosevelt to pick up the remaining U.S. seamen.
The captain asked his men to go slowly and maneuver carefully through the rough waves to ensure safety.
It was nearly 00:00 on March 6 that the Greenlines DP K7 successfully brought the U.S. naval members to shore.
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