The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction has called for stepped-up propaganda work and guidance to ensure that transport operators and vessel captains comply with navigational signaling systems and operate their vessels only when safety conditions are fully met.
On the afternoon of July 14, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, Bui Hoa An, said the department had instructed its subordinate units and relevant agencies to urgently implement coordinated measures to strengthen safety and order on inland waterways and in the maritime sector, particularly during the rainy and storm season.
The department also instructed relevant units to continue strictly implementing directives issued by the Ministry of Construction and the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration on strengthening state management and preventing accidents in inland waterway passenger transport, particularly on routes connecting the mainland with islands such as Con Dao and Thanh An.
The Inland Waterway Port Authority of Ho Chi Minh City has been assigned to coordinate with relevant agencies to step up inspections of compliance with safety regulations, including vessel safety standards, operator qualifications, lifesaving and rescue equipment, passenger capacity control, and passenger embarkation and disembarkation procedures at ports and terminals.
The authority was also tasked with intensifying inspections of passenger terminals, river ferry crossings, and tourist boat piers, while strictly handling violations and encroachments on protected navigation corridors.
For the Waterway Management Center, the Department of Construction instructed the unit to intensify propaganda work and provide guidance to transport operators and vessel captains, urging them to regularly update weather and navigation information, comply with navigational signaling systems, and operate vessels only when safety conditions are fully ensured.
The center was also directed to review the system of navigation buoys and signs, inspect areas posing potential safety risks, and coordinate inspections of compliance with inland waterway traffic regulations at river-crossing infrastructure projects.
