According to initial information, the Green Bay ship 58 with license plate QN-7105 was carrying tourists on Ha Long Bay leaving the wharf for sightseeing at 12:55 on July 19, to sightsee on route 2 (Hang Sung - Titop Island).
At about 1:30 p.m. the same day, the ship encountered a sudden thunderstorm, and at 2:05 p.m. the same day, the GPS signal was lost.
The Bay Xanh 58 ship, registration number QN-7105, is an iron-clad tourist ship, built in 2015, carrying 49 people (46 tourists and 3 crew members). At 1:40 a.m. on July 20, the authorities salvaged the ship and found 45 out of 49 people (of which 10 were alive and 35 had died); 4 people were still missing.
According to Mr. Bui Hong Minh - Deputy Director of the Department of Construction of Quang Ninh province, the safety regulations for Ha Long Bay tourist boats are higher than the national standards. The Green Bay ship meets the safety and stability coefficient standard of 2.3 while the general regulation is only over 1.
Regarding the requirement for tourists to wear life jackets, according to the representative of the Department of Construction, passengers on a passenger ship crossing the river are required to wear life jackets; in the case of the Green Bay tourist ship 58 QN-7105, they are not required to wear life jackets, except in case of emergency.
"In the golf club 58 capsize accident, up to 80% of the victims were wearing life jackets when found, meaning that the captain had previously warned passengers to wear life jackets, ready to respond to incidents" - Mr. Minh said.
