Fishermen provided with radio navigation equipment to ensure boating safety

Fishermen received 14 transceivers from World Vision on April 8 in the northern province of Thanh Hoa. The devices are expected to help them have safe trips when they go fishing offshore.

With the Japanese-made equipment, the fishermen in Hoang Phu and Quang Nham communities can easily receive weather updates from radio stations nationwide when sailing. Moreover, location of their boats can be identified more quickly and accurately in case of emergencies. 

“The device makes us feel much more secured now. We’ll tell other teams to equip their boats with the transceivers as well, at least two or three more this year,” says Truong Nhat Tan, a fisher from Hoang Phu community.

Fishermen received 14 transceivers from World Vision on April 8 in Thanh Hoa.

The two communities suffer from 7-10 storms or tropical low pressures with unpredictable rule and magnitudeevery year. Most local men work on onshore and offshore fishing boats, spreading over a vast fishing ground. Therefore, inadequate weather updates and stagnant connection will put them in high risks when working on the sea.

“I used my cellphone to contact my family on the mainland or to stay updated on the weather conditions. But there was no connection during bad weather and storms,” adds Phung Dinh Nha, another fisher in the community. “I wasn’t aware about a typhoon in 2009 because my cellphone was disconnected. My whole crew wouldn’t be here if we hadn’t luckily hidden on an island in time.”

The 14 sets of transceivers model ICOM 718 are worth nearly 260 million Vietnam dong  (12,380US dollars), of which, 60 million dong (2,850 US dollars) was contributed by the fishermen and the rest was funded by World Vision’s Central Areas of Thanh Hoa Province Resilient to Natural Disasters (CATREND) project. Apart from the equipment, CATREND has also provided local fishermen with life jackets, lifebuoys  as well as trainings on first-aid practices and weather interpretation in the two communities and others in Hoang Hoa and Quang Xuong districts.

Written by Vo Thi Thu and Tong Van Tra – CATREND Project Officer.