Under heavy financial pressure due to the COVID-19 raging wave after wave, many Ha Long cruise ship owners are exhausted and in severe psychological shock.
Video: Close-up of more than 500 cruise ships lying on the shores of Ha Long Bay
“By this time, I am very tired, very tired. If this situation lasts for a few more months, I don’t know if I can stand it.” That is the situation of Mr. Le Duong Minh (SN 1980, owner of Huy Hoang cruise ship, Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province) when sharing with PV VTC News about the miserable and exhausted situation of businesses and ship owners. Ha Long tourism after many outbreaks of COVID-19 disease, causing the tourism industry here to be temporarily “closed”. Looking at the man with a wrinkled shirt, a hard face, messy hair, deep eyes, no one would have thought that this was once a famous ship owner in Ha Long just nearly 2 years ago. Lazily, Anh Minh said, this whole year, his mind is always heavy, burdened with worries and doesn’t know how to remove it. In one day, he had to sink into thought for a few hours, almost shocked and really pressured by having to take care of the expenses but the revenue was not available, the epidemic kept coming from time to time. “I’m very exhausted and almost exhausted right now,” Minh said choked. 
3 cruise ships of Mr. Le Duong Minh’s family are now moored, lying dormant at the international passenger port of Ha Long without knowing when they will return to operation. Sell clean to pay bank interest Mr. Le Duong Minh said, more than 20 years ago, he moved from his hometown in An Lao district (Hai Phong) to Quang Ninh to find a job, started washing dishes, carrying calves, and then fell in love with a career as a tourist service for tourists. Cruise ship owner in Ha Long. More than 10 years ago, he and his relatives contributed capital to buy cruise ships to run their own business. From the time of contributing half of the ship to a ship, so far, Minh’s family has had 3 cruise ships, including 1 wooden ship and 2 newly built steel hull ships. How much profit has accumulated so far, Minh’s family uses to reinvest in new steel hull ships. According to Mr. Minh, each new steel hull ship is about 7 billion VND, he has to borrow up to 5 billion VND. In early 2020, his family built 2 new ships, so he had to borrow 10 billion from the bank. Since then, every month Mr. Minh has to pay 100 million VND. However, before carrying any passengers, the COVID-19 epidemic suddenly appeared and continued to break out from time to time. Until now, we have been traveling, we never thought that the epidemic would last forever and be so terrible. Mr. Le Duong Minh – Ha Long cruise ship owner “Since the day of the epidemic, I have to borrow money to fight. I expect that if there is no epidemic, 3 normal ships will also earn about 150 million per month, enough to pay bank interest and also have a savings. If you don’t work now, you won’t get anything to make up for that profit. Until now, we have been traveling, we never thought that the epidemic would last forever and be so terrible. In the past, there was a SARS epidemic, it only lasted 3-4 months, and businesses stopped operating for a short time, then revived and developed steadily. But this epidemic lasted from the beginning of 2020 until now, we are out of breath.” Minh said sadly. From the beginning of 2022 until now, Minh’s monthly revenue is just zero. Meanwhile, bank interest is still payable, principal is not yet payable. In addition, they still have to pay money to hire workers to look after, maintain, operate the machine, electricity, water … “Now that I have no income, I have to borrow money. I borrowed from relatives, brothers, even sold something to get money to pay bank interest and expenses. If the epidemic is under control in 1-2 months, I will still have the opportunity to run a full-time train to earn a living and pay salaries to employees, raise my wife and children, otherwise I don’t know how.” Minh said. Running out of resources to borrow, ship owners exhausted, employees losing their jobs Sad when it comes to financial resources, Mr. Minh said that because he had no income, he had long been in a new situation of taking out a new loan to pay the old interest, leading to debt stacking, interest on top of interest, even having to borrow high interest rates. to pay low interest. “A lot of expenses, bro! Every month, you also have to borrow up to 60 million to pay interest, but from February 2020 until now, you know how much it is. In addition, each month has to maintain 1 employee for each ship, to pay salaries and meals for them has already lost 8 million, plus maintenance, operation and maintenance costs … Every 5-6 months, the ships have to be put on board for maintenance, scrubbing, repainting the hull… twice a year, costing 100 million. So, my family has 3 ships and it takes another 300 million. Due to having to borrow money from a shipbuilding bank, ship owners have to buy insurance for the loan, and each year they have to spend about 25 million money to buy insurance. If the epidemic continues from this year to next year without stopping, I really don’t have the strength to reinvest anymore.” Minh is sad. 
Next to Tuan Chau international passenger ship port, hundreds of cruise ships are lying motionless. Also since the COVID-19 epidemic raged, most of the employees who used to work for the ship had to find jobs by themselves to maintain their lives. Some people go to help build, others go to the market to trade errands to get through the day. “The big owner ‘died’ big, the small owner ‘died’ small. Just like myself, 3 supporting ships from last year to now, the damage is also about 2 billion. Sometimes the wife and children do not dare to eat, do not dare to wear, just worry about money for the staff to eat, look after and maintain the ships waiting for them to return to operation.” Minh said. 
The ships that sleep at night with tens of billions are also lying in the lock on the side of Ha Long Bay. According to Mr. Minh, if the situation of the COVID-19 epidemic continues like this, his family will only last 3-4 months. If the bank pressed too hard at that time, his family would borrow money from one place to another. “Unfortunately, I have already borrowed a lot, so there may not be another place to borrow. Maybe you have to accept the risk, borrow more high interest outside to support. Because no one buys ships now, people buy them to carry tourists, not buy them to park. Cruise ships are now almost frozen and no longer trading.” Minh commented. Now, no one buys ships even if they sell them, people buy them to carry tourists, not buy them to park. Mr. Le Duong Minh – Ha Long cruise ship owner Minh said that he, like most other ship owners, wants the bank to accompany businesses and cruise ship business households to have a debt freeze and debt extension policy, so that ship owners and businesses can strength to endure and when tourism is restored, they will repay the bank. Up to this point, according to Mr. Minh, many ship owners not only pledge assets such as houses and cars, but also have to sell them to have money to continue. “Nearly 100% of ship owners have bank loans, if this time “collapses” is to collapse, there will be a series of ship owners facing bad debts, debt squeeze… policy support from the bank and the State” , Minh predicted.
You must log in to post a comment.