Lost ship, lost livelihood
More than a day after the fire at the boat anchorage area on Thi Nai lagoon, many fishermen in Cat Tien commune (Gia Lai) are still in shock when their lifelong savings are burned down, and their livelihoods are also turned to ashes.
The fire occurred at noon on June 29, originating from a fishing boat anchored in the Nhon Phuoc area, bordering Quy Nhon Dong ward and Tuy Phuoc Dong commune. The fire burned down 12 fishing boats, causing 4 other boats to partially burn.
The fire occurred at the same time as the tide receded deeply, many boats ran aground and could not escape the dangerous area. The fire quickly spread to adjacent anchored boats. Many fishermen could only helplessly watch their property and livelihoods of their families being burned down.
Sharing with Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Phong (born 1969, residing in Cat Tien commune) said that his fishing boat was built in 2005 with a capacity of 700CV, costing about 400 million VND. After many repairs and installing more machinery and equipment, the boat is currently worth about 900 million VND.
His family has lived by fishing for many years. However, after many precarious sea trips, he brought the boat ashore. He planned to register for dismissal and change jobs due to his old age, no longer having enough strength to stick to the sea. But before it could be done, an unexpected incident struck, pushing the family into debt.
I hope that levels and sectors will consider supporting the ship to be dismantled, have more funds to repay debts and change careers," Mr. Phong expressed.
Sharing the same situation, Mr. Le Van Sang (born 1986, residing in Cat Tien commune) said that the boat that just caught fire was bought by him and his younger brother 4 years ago for 730 million VND. After investing in upgrading and installing more equipment, the boat is worth more than 1 billion VND.
Both families rely on the ship to earn a living. In storm No. 13, the ship was washed ashore by waves, the propeller broke, it ran aground, causing damage of nearly 70 million VND. Just finished repairing not long ago, now it has caught fire again.
My family only hopes to be approved to dissolve the village to have funds to pay off debts and cover living expenses during the career change period," Mr. Sang said.
Luckily, Mr. Nguyen Van Quang's boat (born 1974, residing in Cat Tien commune) only partially burned, causing damage of more than 50 million VND. After more than 35 years of being attached to the fishing profession, he still decided to repair the boat to continue sticking to the sea to earn a living.
During the recent storm, my ship was also damaged by more than 60 million VND, and I had to borrow money for repairs. Only gone a few sea trips and then encountered a fire again. I hope the State has policies to support and create conditions for borrowing capital to repair the ship and continue to go offshore," Mr. Quang shared.
Do not leave fishermen alone after a fire
Among the 16 burned ships, 4 ships had previously sunk, and 12 ships were damaged due to storm No. 13. Just being repaired to continue going offshore, the ships encountered fires again, causing great property damage and seriously affecting the livelihoods of fishermen.
Before the wishes of the people, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - Secretary of the Party Committee of Cat Tien commune - said that the locality will fully summarize the recommendations to report to the Provincial People's Committee for consideration.
Fishermen mainly live by fishing, relying on fishing boats to earn a living, many households also borrow capital to build boats. The locality will carefully review the damage in each case, and propose to the province to have appropriate support policies so that people can soon stabilize their lives," Mr. Hung said.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Nghia - Head of Gia Lai Provincial Fisheries Sub-Department - said that for boats that caught fire but have not registered for discharge, the province has assigned Cat Tien commune to coordinate with functional sectors to review and consider fishermen's recommendations.
After the locality fully summarizes the wishes of the people, departments and branches will advise the Provincial People's Committee to consider and resolve the removal of the boat according to Resolution No. 27/2025/NQ-HDND," Mr. Nghia informed.
Immediately after the fire, Member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Pham Anh Tuan held an emergency meeting, directing the immediate implementation of initial support policies to help fishermen soon stabilize their lives. Each case of a burned ship is supported with 15kg of rice and 3 million VND/month for 3 months.
For the 5 ships that have registered for diversion, the province agrees to immediately implement the support policy. For the remaining 11 ships, the Department of Agriculture and Environment is assigned to advise on a plan to apply the policy to support fishermen in diversion and suitable career change.
The province's initial support policy partly helps fishermen alleviate difficulties. However, they still hope to soon receive financial support, loans, dismantle boats and convert livelihoods to stabilize their lives for a long time.
