All ferry and speedboat services from the mainland to Phu Quoc City, an island off the coast of Kien Giang Province in southern Vietnam, have been suspended since Tuesday morning due to inclement weather conditions in the area.

Ferry and speedboat trips bound for Nam Du, another island destination off the coast of Kien Giang from the provincial city of Rach Gia, are also subject to the suspension, the provincial Inland Waterway Port Authority said the same day.

Meanwhile, the speedboat service from Rach Gia to Hon Son, an island off the province’s Kien Hai District, remains operational.

Following the service suspension notice, a number of tourists and local residents gathering at a ferry terminal in Rach Gia at around 8:00 am the same day had to return home.

Nguyen Thi Hoa, a native of Rach Gia who was among those affected by the service suspension, had initially planned to send fruits, mooncakes, rice, beans, and some other food necessities to Nam Du for her child, who runs a grocery store there, to resell.

The suspension forced her to hire a vehicle to transport all the items back to her home in Rach Gia, she said.

Nguyen Xuan Da, director of the Kien Giang Inland Waterway Port Authority, said the authority will continue to update weather forecasts and allow the resumption of waterway services once conditions improve.

At dawn on Tuesday, a tropical depression in the East Vietnam Sea made landfall in the central Vietnamese localities from Quang Tri to Thua Thien Hue Provinces, dumping heavy rains in these areas and other parts of the country, according to the national weather center.

Downpours could hit almost all parts nationwide until Thursday or Friday this week, the center said, adding that people in vulnerable areas should prepare for possible flash floods, landslides, flooding, whirlwinds, lightning, and wind gusts during the period.

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