Stricter punishments are to be meted out on those who pollute the sea under a draft decree issued by the Ministry of Transport.
If passed, those who intentionally discharge waste water contaminated with poisonous chemicals into the sea will be subject to fines of VND100 million (US$5,200), five times current levels. Those who flush out tanks containing oil into the sea will be subject to fines of up to VND30-50 million ($1,578-2,631), while those ships that are not equipped with oil filters, or which discharge oil without permission from the local maritime department, will be fined VND10-VND20 million ($526-$1,052).
Meanwhile, those who throw rubbish overboard will be fined VND1-VND5 million ($52-260), instead of VND200,000-VND500,000 ($10-$26) as present.
In addition, boat owners and captains will be subject to fines of VND5-VND10 million ($263-526) if they have made no arrangements to lawfully discharge the oil their boats are carrying.
Furthermore, boat owners and captains will be responsible for cleaning up any waste they have spilt or discarded.
Tran Ngoc Thanh, deputy director of the Ministry of Transport’s Legal Department, said current fine levels were too low to discourage polluters.
Thanh added that ministry inspectors and local People’s Committees would make routine checks of boats, and mete out fines to those who break the law.
Nguyen Thien, from the Pollution Management Department, said contamination of the sea was becoming a major problem.
"Pollution at sea with petroleum and waste from ships has increased, mainly due to the fact that many vessels are badly maintained."
According to figures from the Environment Protection General Department, oil discharged from ships contributes more than 30 per cent of all pollution at sea.
Over the last few years, there have been at least 40 major oil spills of 500 tonnes – 2,000 tonnes.
The last major spill was from the Duc Tri ship, which sank off the coast of Binh Thuan Province with 1,700 tonnes of oil on board.
Pollution with oil off the Vietnamese coast on average exceeds 0.29mg/l, rising to 1.75 mg/l in Cai Lan Port. A third of Ha Long Bay is contaminated with 1mg/l-1.73 mg/l.
Nguyen Hai Duong, who owns three ships docked in Hai Phong City, said boat owners often lacked the capital needed to properly maintain their vessels.
He said the State should provide funds to repair and maintain ships.