Steel houses guarding Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea

VietNamNet Bridge – Steel houses on reefs and rocks in the southern continental shelf act as guards of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea.

VietNamNet Bridge – Steel houses on reefs and rocks in the southern continental shelf act as guards of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea.

The DK1 is a complex of steel houses built on the southern continental shelf of Vietnam, about 250-350 nautical miles from the shore.

DK is the abbreviation of “Dich vu – Khoa hoc ky thuat” (Services – science and technology). DK is understood as a work for civil purposes in the sea. Number 1 refers to the outer houses, which is the farthest from the shore compared to the DK2 houses, which serve oil and gas exploration.

Vietnam has seven complexes of steel houses in the East Sea, managed by the navy.

From June 10 to 15, 1989, the Ministry of Transport and the High Command of Engineers built the first steel house in Phuc Tan Reef, which is also called DK1/3.

There are several fishery control ships at each steel house.

These steel houses are the fulcrum for Vietnamese offshore fishing boats.

Soldiers work on the steel houses for 8-9 months. Some soldiers stay at these houses for 2-3 years.

In December 1990, DK1/3 steel house collapsed in a big storm, killing 3 soldiers. In 1998, the Phuc Nguyen 2A steel house collapsed in the Faith hurricane. Three more soldiers were sacrificed.

Many steel houses have been renovated to be able to resist big storms.