Fishing boats in many southern provinces are being left idle as local fishermen have been unable to buy diesel. Photo by Nongnghiepvietnam

At Tran De fishing port in Soc Trang Province, hundreds of boats have been left unused for several months.

A local fisherman, Nguyen Van Tho, said that his boat has been anchored for nearly five months.

"We decided to suspend our fishing activities when the fuel prices sharply increased in April," he said. "But when the prices started to fall from late August, we've been unable to buy diesel to operate our boats. This is the most difficult year I've experienced in my 45 years working as a fisherman."

The fisherman said that even though he agreed to pay local petrol stations higher fuel prices than the government's listed prices, he still could not buy enough fuel for a fishing trip.

"Here we have the fishing season lasting from February to November, but we have missed five months this year," he said. "I really hope that the government will have measures to ensure enough fuel supplies for us.

Another fisherman Quang Van Phung, said that his family members are all working on the boats and are facing lots of challenges this time.

"After two years being hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, we’re now being hit by the petrol crisis this year," Phung said. "Our boat operates near to the shore so we don't use too much fuel, but we have rarely made profits since the petrol prices hike."

In Bac Lieu Province, fisherman Huynh Van Cuong in Ganh Hao Town said that each trip his boat consumes some 200 litres of diesel. But he has been unable to buy fuel over the past two weeks.

According to vice head of the Soc Trang Provincial Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Lu Tan Hoa, the province has a total of 999 fishing boats with 30 percent of them being left idle due to lack of fuel.

"A boat consumes an average of between 5,000 to 10,000 litres of diesel on each fishing trip, but its owner can only buy some 2,000-3,000 litres a time, so they have to keep their boats home," Hoa said.

The same situation is occurring to fishermen in some neighbouring provinces of Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Tra Vinh, Binh Thuan, and Ben Tre.

Ho Thanh Tuan, head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Bac Lieu Province's Dong Hai District said that the fuel shortage had been reported in the area over the past two weeks.

"We've reported the situation to local authorities but the problem has not been solved," he said.

Source: Dtinews