Ha Long Bay tourism paralyzed, tourists denied

Around 500 passenger boats on Ha Long Bay in the northern province Quang Ninh refused to carry travelers on Friday morning as boat owners cited that their facilities failed to meet safety regulations as ruled in the new decision.
The unanimous move of those boat owners has caused the cruising service on Ha Long Bay becoming totally paralyzed.
Ha Long 03 boat owner Nguyen Van Dan told Tuoi Tre the new decision issued by the Quang Ninh People’s Committee rules on so strict a condition on safety that his boat fails to meet them.
Ngo Quang Dao, director of Phuong Dong Galaxy owning some boats, added he was only informed of the new decision coded 716/2011/QD-UBND on June 8, two days before the decision took effect Friday.
The decision requires boats to install automatic systems for fire alarm and fire fighting, he added.
“It requires each boat must equip a high-pressure pump able to spray water up to 35-40 meters, but we can’t find such a pump in Vietnamese market now,” Dao said.
“Those are the reasons why we don’t register to carry passengers today,” he argued.
Dao Manh Luong, chairman of the Association of the Ha Long Bay’s Fleet of Boats, recommended that the province should discuss with boat owners to build up a roadmap to upgrade the fleet.
Local authorities have not made any public announcement or explanation concerning the case.
It has left over a hundred of domestic and foreign travelers waiting for hours in vain this morning.