In the morning of March 25, N.Q.N. from Ham Thuan Nam District of Binh Thuan Province was unexpected swept out to sea by large waves while catching snails in the coastal area of Tien Thanh Commune (in Phan Thiet City), leading to his pitiful death.
A day before, while diving to catch seafood near the embankment area of Phu Hai Ward (Phan Thiet City), L.V.S. suddenly encountered trouble and died because he could not rise to the sea surface in time.
On March 23, H.V.T. from Ha Tinh Province was working at sea near La Gi estuary (Binh Thuan Province) when a drowning incident occurred to him. His dead body could not be found until noon of the same day.
Leaders of Binh Thuan Province commented that the reasons for many marine labor accidents are partly due to adverse weather, but mostly because of low awareness of fishermen about labor safety at sea.
They violate many labor safety regulations at sea like not wearing life jackets, not equipping their boats with lifebuoys, not precisely registering for their working area. Some explained that wearing life jackets is uncomfortable or inconvenient for them to work.
To reduce such unnecessary accidents on fishing grounds, it is essential for functional agencies to cooperate to raise the effectiveness of ensuring safety for both fishermen and their boats while working at sea.
In particular, fishermen need to receive training on maritime safety knowledge, survival skills at sea, ability to withstand waves when encountering bad weather, professional skills for each type of job, on-site first-aid steps for victims right on fishing vessels, collaboration with others in searching and rescuing tasks.
Furthermore, fishing boat owners must equip their vessels with suitable labor safety tools, increase their knowledge and skills to ensure safety at work, remember necessary frequencies for emergencies.
Only when the skills and expertise of fishermen are improved, safety maintenance equipment are fully installed on boats can pitiful accidents at sea be stopped.
