Investigations prompt continued ban to hydrofoils in southern waterways The minister of Transport, Dinh La Thang, has proposed a continued ban on all express hydrofoils in a number of southern waterways due to safety concerns raised by inspections. Hydrofoils that once operated in lines from HCM City to Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province will continue to be banned.   Hydrofoils may be further banned from operations due to safety concerns The proposal follows recent inspections that found express hydrofoil fleets in HCM City and Ba Ria – Vung Tau to be old and in need of replacement. He said that the HCM City and Ba Ria – Vung Tau route once had 22 hydrofoils in operation. As of January 22 this year only ten are deemed safe to operate, while the rest have been pulled because of their age. Most of the vehicles still operational are around 20 years old, but have been refitted with new engines. Between June 2007 and the end of last year, as many as 38 incidents with hydrofoils were recorded, two of which cause two deaths. The latest hydrofoil accident was the fire of Vina Express 1 on January 20. It was carrying 85 passengers and seven crew members. As a result of such incidents, the HCM City municipal government decided to temporarily halt operations of all passenger hydrofoils on routes from the metropolis to Ba Ria – Vung Tau. The Ministry of Transport set up inspection teams to check the condition of such vehicles in these two localities from February 27 to March 22. The teams found a total of 254 technical shortcomings on eight inspected vehicles. “These shortcomings are serious and safety could not be ensured, and these vehicles could not be repaired because they are too old. They have a high risk of accidents,” Thang noted. He proposed that the government halt operations of such vehicles in HCM City and Ba Ria – Vung Tau Province. The government should also direct relevant ministries and branches to coordinate with HCM City and other localities to work out policies to support hydrofoil transport companies in upgrading their vehicle fleets, he said. The PM should assign the Ministry of Transport the task of compiling a decree on operating standards for express hydrofoils, he added. By Chau Nhu Quynh, dtinews.vn