On the morning of June 30, Member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan chaired an emergency meeting to assess damage and discuss solutions to support fishermen whose boats caught fire in the boat anchorage area on Thi Nai lagoon.
According to a report from the Gia Lai Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment, at about 12:00 on June 29, a fishing boat of fishermen in Cat Tien commune anchored in the Nhon Phuoc area (Quy Nhon Dong ward) suddenly caught fire.
At the time of the incident, the tide receded deeply, causing many ships to get stranded, unable to start engines or move out of the dangerous area. The fire therefore quickly spread to adjacent anchored ships.
Immediately after receiving the news, the Fire and Rescue Police force mobilized officers, soldiers and specialized vehicles to the scene, urgently deploying measures to extinguish the fire and prevent it from spreading. By the afternoon of the same day, the fire was completely controlled.
According to preliminary statistics, the fire damaged 16 fishing boats of fishermen in Cat Tien commune, of which 12 boats were completely burned and 4 boats were partially burned. There are 15 boats from 15m long and 1 boat under 15m long. One person was burned during firefighting and is being treated.
Among the 16 damaged ships, only 1 ship participated in hull insurance, the remaining 15 ships did not have insurance. 5 ships have registered for decommissioning but have not been appraised or approved for support policies.
To overcome the consequences, the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Gia Lai province proposed that the Provincial People's Committee urgently support ship owners to stabilize the lives of ship owners while waiting for production recovery; direct the Fishermen Support Fund to consider supporting cases of fire damage, and soon resolve the resettlement policy for 5 registered ships.
The Department also requested the People's Committee of Cat Tien commune to urgently compile statistics and confirm the damage of each ship owner; review social security, credit and insurance policies to propose appropriate support plans.
The Provincial Military Command coordinated with departments and branches to implement measures to prevent the risk of oil spills and environmental pollution on Thi Nai lagoon. The Provincial Police urgently investigated and clarified the cause of the fire, determined the responsibilities of related organizations and individuals, and handled it according to regulations.
Concluding the meeting, Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan agreed to provide emergency support to households with fired ships for 3 months. Accordingly, each case is supported with 15kg of rice/month and 3 million VND/month.
Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee requested localities to urgently review and accurately confirm the list of ship owners and crew members so that payment can be made soon.
For the 5 ships that have registered for discharge, provincial leaders agreed to immediately implement the support policy. For the remaining 11 ships, the Department of Agriculture and Environment is assigned to study and advise on a plan to apply the policy to support fishermen to change careers appropriately.
The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also assigned the Department of Finance to coordinate with relevant units to review funding sources and complete procedures to implement policies in accordance with regulations. At the same time, he requested insurance companies to urgently assess damages and pay compensation to ships that have participated in insurance, helping fishermen soon stabilize their lives.
Currently, functional agencies are continuing to investigate and clarify the cause of the fire and determine damage.
