Some tourist service businesses and local residents in Da Nang have been found arbitrarily converting their inflatable canoes and coracles for illegally transporting tourists who want to dive and watching corals in the waters off the city. Such an illegal transport service is leading to unsafe water traffic. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen patrols and handle the above-mentioned unlicensed watercraft.

Son Tra Border Guard Station and Marine Police I from the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security jointly handle watercraft that are illegally converted for carrying tourists. Photo: Ngoc Quoc

As reported by Major Dang Van Dao, Head of Son Tra Border Guard Station, during the summer tourist season, the demand is soaring among tourists arriving in the coastal central city of Da Nang for experiencing underwater tourism with such highly-inviting activities as diving, watching corals and fishing in the waters off Da Nang, and Son Tra Peninsula in partocular.

Taking advantage of the fact that some tourists do not know the regulations, many tourist service businesses and local residents have illegally modified their inflatable canoes and coracles that failed to meet the passenger transport standards.

The conversion of means of transport such as inflatable canoes and coracles to carry passengers is illegal and is not licensed by the competent authorities because of the potential risks of unsafe water traffic.

Since the start of 2022, according to recent statistics released by itself, the Son Tra Border Guard Station has discovered 9 cases of arbitrarily converting watercraft for marine tourism purposes, and 6 of them were levied with VND1.5 million each.

On the morning of May 29, the Son Tra Border Guard Station and other relevant functional forces jointly patrolled and discovered 3 inflatable canoes and powered  coracles illegally transporting 15 tourists from Tho Quang Ward, Son Tra District to the Nam (South) beach area off the Son Tra Peninsula for fishing, diving and admiring coral reefs.

It is worth mentioning that there was an inflatable boat that has a accommodation design capacity of up to 3 people but this means of transport was caught red handed carrying up to 7 people, posing a high risk of unsafe water traffic.

According to Major Dang Van Dao, currently, all tourism activities, diving to admire coral reefs at the Nam beach site are illegal, potentially posing many safety hazards for tourists, and at the same time can cause serious damage to coral reefs and adversely affect the biodiversity of the Son Tra Peninsula Nature Reserve.

However, some subjects have found intentionally offering unauthorised passenger transport services.In particular, such illegal activities usually happen on weekends, in the morning, especially from 8:00 am to 11:00 am.

The Da Nang functional agencies are now advising tourists against using potentially unsafe waterway transportation services in a bid to ensure their ultimate safety during their stay in the city.

In addition, local law enforcement forces are strengthening inspection and strictly handle violations in inland waterways transport, including cases of bringing unqualified vessels into operation, a shortage of life jackets, life-saving buoyancy devices and crew members, and drivers having no certificates of ability professional qualifications, professional certificates, and exceeding the designed capacity.

Reporting by NGOC QUOC - Translating by A. THU