CÀ MAU — Cà Mau Province’s People’s Committee has approved 73 applications to build new offshore-fishing ships and six others to upgrade existing low-capacity fishing ships to serve offshore fishing activities under Decree 67.

Under the decree, which was issued on July 7, 2014, owners of ships with steel or new materials (other than wood) with total main engine capacity of 400CV-800CV can borrow bank loans that do not exceed 90 per cent of the total cost for building the ships.

Trần Văn Thời District has a large number of fishing vessels approved for building or upgrading.

The province’s People’s Committee said commercial banks in the province have provided total loans worth over VNĐ352 billion (US$15 million) for local fishermen to build 32 new ships. Of that amount, more than VNĐ341 billion ($14.7 million) has been disbursed.

Meanwhile, loans worth VNĐ4.4 billion ($189,260) for upgrading two ships have already been disbursed.

The province has also provided insurance support for 1,944 offshore fishing vessels valued at VNĐ20 billion ($860,000), and for logistics vessels catering to fishing ships with total value of VNĐ25 billion ($1.08 million).

Nguyễn Tiến Hải, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, has asked the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in collaboration with authorised agencies, to review the performance of newly-built fishing ships to ensure their efficiency and safety in offshore fishing.

If the vessels are found to be inefficient and are found idle on riverbanks, the provincial People’s Committee will strictly handle the cases.

The province is also providing information to local fishermen about the guidelines in Government Decree No 17 issued on February 2. The decree amended and supplemented a number of articles in Decree No 67.

The province’s People’s Committee said it would continue to create favourable conditions for fishermen to access loans to build new ships or upgrade low-capacity ships. — VNS