Halong in choppy waters

The UNCESCO-protected World Heritage Site Halong Bay is a massive hotspot for tourism in Vietnam

When a tourist boat sank resulting in 12 deaths in Halong Bay on February 16, the story had gone global in a matter of hours.

The boat started to sink before dawn near Titov island in Halong Bay, while most of the passengers were sleeping. Fifteen people escaped the boat before being pulled out of the sea by crew from nearby junks, which were also anchored down overnight by the island. 

The victims were later identified as holidaymakers from the US, Britain, Australia, Japan, Russia, France, Sweden and Switzerland, along with a Vietnamese tour guide.

Halong Bay is one of Vietnam’s most popular coastal destinations and arguably the country’s most stunning location. The reaction to the incident was immediate. The whole bay was shut down for two days as an investigation got underway. At the time of writing over 100 junks have been inspected and declared seaworthy.

So what happened to the junk that sank? At first it was reported a panel of the ship ripped away and water quickly inundated the hull, pulling the ship down. This had alarm bells ringing over the quality of junks and cruise ships operating in the bay.

But according to Quang Ninh police department, human error was to blame. The vessel’s captain and a crew member were duly arrested. Apparently, a valve that allows water to come into the boat to cool the engine was left open while the vessel was anchored for the night, said police spokesman Le Thanh Binh. There were no holes or cracks in the hull. As captain Nguyen Van Minh, 22, and his crew mate Do Van Thang, 27, were in charge of the engine, they were arrested.

Actions from local authorities

At present all overnight cruises operating are under strict supervision before disembarking, and all vessels belonging to Truong Hai Company are banned.

The Halong Management Board and Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee launched the special inspection team which checked more than 500 tour boats operating in the bay last week. The 164 overnight cruise vessels were made a priority.

“We are also checking the knowledge and qualifications of captain and crew members working on all cruises,” said Dang Huy Hau, vice chairman of the committee.

“We will decide which ones are suitable for operating overnight cruises and which are not to improve the safety of tourist activities.”

“This is the deadliest tour boat accident since the country opened up to foreign visitors 25 years ago. We will pay an expensive price for this accident,” said Hau before promising, “Those held responsible will be dealt with seriously in accordance with the law.”

Tourism authorities also confirmed that AZ Travel (based in Hanoi’s Old Quarter), which booked   tourists onto the ill-fated tour, is now  not allowed to deal with international inbound travellers.

Industry effort

In light of this awful tragedy in Halong, cruise ship owners and travel companies operating in Halong Bay are out to salvage the World Heritage Site’s tarnished reputation. Understandably, clients and partners need to be reassured that the bay is safe for cruises.

According to Pham Ha, founder and CEO of Luxury Travel Company, staying overnight on the bay is a dream of many tourists, especially ones from Europe and America, when visiting the World Heritage Site. But the accident will concern tourists and dent the prestige of travel companies. Travel companies will also suffer losses when clients decide to change their tour itineraries by cancelling scheduled tours to Halong Bay.

Nguyen Cao Son from Paradise Cruises said when Halong Management Board temporarily banned overnight cruises on Halong Bay, the company put its clients up in the four-star Bai Chay beach resort.

“Paradise Cruises paid all extra expenses for rooms at four star-grade  hotels, transportation fees for all guests booked on overnight tours. If anyone wants to cancel their tour, we will refund them totally,” said Son, whose company runs seven four-star cruises serving 150 – 250 guests a day in Halong. After two days docked in the port, Halong Phoenix Cruises is now operating overnight tours again.

“We have to send a message to our local and foreign partners and clients as well as update information on our Facebook and Twitter pages to clarify the current situation and regular maintenances of our cruises,” says Pham Thanh Hung from South Pacific Travel, which manages Halong Phoenix Cruises.

Regular maintenance

“My thoughts, when I first heard the news, went immediately out to the families of these passengers. I thought of the calls they would be receiving from our corner of the world, communicating this dreadful news, and how their lives would never be the same,” says Jacques Le Fur, the captain of the Emeraude, one of Halong’s most splendid cruise ships.

“My thoughts then turned to the welfare of my own passengers. I frequently ask myself the same question: “Have we on the Emeraude done everything possible to ensure that our passengers are as safe as possible on their Halong Bay cruise?”

“To ensure safety, the team has to follow a strict regimen. Every year, usually in July, they haul the Emeraude out of Halong Bay for maintenance in a shipyard they trust. They’re giving up almost a month of business to make this inspection, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Obviously this accident has a negative impact on Halong Bay tourism in particular, and on Vietnamese tourism in general,” says Ha, who believes there are too many overnight cruises operating in Halong Bay.

“More than 130 overnight cruises are floating on Halong Bay at the moment making it too crowded and damaging the environment,” he says “The local authorities should inspect quality more carefully, should classify the cruises based on their quality, conveniences and safety standards, like hotels with one to five stars ranking them from budget to luxury accommodation, while improving the quality and quantity of services and entertainment at hotels and restaurants on land.”

Ha suggests that if a one or two star vessel meets with an accident, the local authorities would ban all vessels of that standard while 3-5 star standard vessels could operate as normal. If a five-star met with an accident, they could stop all cruises. That way one incident wouldn’t necessarily mean the whole bay had to close down.

Overnight suggestions

Most tourist experts agree that tourists should look for detailed information on services and quality before booking a Halong tour and should not choose one just because it’s cheap. As Vietnam caters for large numbers of young western backpackers, there is a large budget tourism industry throughout the country.   

But, “you should not endanger your life by booking an overnight tour for under $50 to Halong Bay, including transportation, a guide, sightseeing fees, meals and overnight boat,” advises Pham Thanh Hung, from Halong Phoenix Cruises.

“Hanoi based tour operators offer daily packages for different budgets from Hanoi to Halong Bay,” notes Pham Ha. “Many tourists book cheap packages and use a shuttle bus. Sadly cheap deals cost lives in Halong Bay in this recent tragedy.”