VietNamNet Bridge – Hydrofoil operators in HCMC and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province have written to relevant authorities asking for permission to resume operations.

Passengers board a hydrofoil in downtown HCMC in this file picture. Hydrofoil operators in HCMC and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province have asked for permission to resume operations.

HCMC-Vung Tau hydrofoil services have been suspended since a fire destroyed a Vina Express boat on the way from HCMC to Vung Tau more than two months ago.

Hydrofoil firms said the interruption of their services had cost them dearly and that the situation would worsen if they were disallowed to resume services.

In a petition sent to the Ministry of Transport, the HCMC People’s Committee and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province People’s Committee, Quang Hung Transportation Co. Ltd., or Petro Express, said the company had spent heavily to upgrade the interior of their boats and install more onboard safety equipment as required following the transport ministry’s inspections.

“We are now facing many difficulties as transportation of passengers is the only revenue stream of our company. Since the service was suspended, we have had to borrow to finance their boat upgrades as demanded by inspectors, pay wages for our staff and cover other expenses,” Petro Express said in the petition.

Speaking with the Daily, Tran Quoc Hieu, deputy director of Petro Express, said it would cost his firm around VND150 million to take a single hydrofoil to a dock for inspection.

Also in the same boat is Vina Express, which has submitted its proposal to authorities asking them for help. The company now has to fulfill all compulsory obligations like wages and insurance along with other management costs while the company’s hydrofoils are sitting idle.

To avoid going bust and laying off workers, the firm has urged authorities to consider allowing hydrofoils to resume service as soon as possible.

A source from the Transport Ministry said the inspectors dispatched by the ministry had detected a slew of technical problems with hydrofoils. The inspectors have also identified responsibilities of the parties concerned and proposed solutions to dealing with the situation.

The inspectors have recommended that the hydrofoil services could resume after all technical problems are properly handled. This depends on how long the operators can get it done.

The HCMC government decided to ban hydrofoils from running between HCMC and the southern city of Vung Tau after the Vina Express hydrofoil with 85 passengers onboard, including 37 foreigners and seven crew members, caught fire.

Two days after the incident, all hydrofoils plying the HCMC-Vung Tau route were forced to stop operations for safety checks.

Source: SGT