Vietnamese fisherman Bui Mong started at the bottom as the cook on a squid boat and worked his way up to owning his own fishing vessel, overcoming disaster and personal tragedy on the way. He has now taken delivery of a new 24 metre GRP boat for fishing tuna and other species.
He was able to apply for a new boat under the Vietnamese government’s ‘Directive No. 67,’ designed to facilitate low-interest loans to assist qualified fishermen to build new boats or upgrade existing boats.
He approached the innovative Institute of Ship Research and Development (UNINSHIP) in Khanh Hoa province on Vietnam’s central coast. In association with University of Nha Trang the small shipyard has launched several fiberglass vessels this year.
Having demonstrated to the bank that he was both deserving of a boat loan and capable of repaying it, he was able to order a new 24 metre by 6.50 metre beam GRP fishing boat from UNISHIP, named Ju Mong Truong Sa. During the loan application process, he was asked why a GRP boat and a relatively expensive engine were on his list of requirements and his response was that he was looking for reliability and low maintenance costs that would allow the boat to fish more effectively, allowing him to repay the loan more quickly.
Ju Mong Truong Sa was delivered in June this year and has been fishing successfully, its 12-cylinder Cummins KTA38 MO delivering 800hp at 1800rpm through a Dong I marine gear with 4.95:1 reduction to provide a 12-knot top speed. A power takeoff on the main engine provides for the hydraulic steering. Other auxiliary requirements are met by three refurbished 60 KVA auxiliary generator sets.
Ju Mong Truong Sa is large enough to fish well offshore,with accommodation space for a crew of twenty and outfitted for several fishing methods in Vietnamese waters. The construction features working decks formed with three-layer, sandwich type construction to provide strength, as well as better noise and heat insulation. The 70 cubic metre fishroom capacity provides ample space for ice, and for tuna and other species caught in Vietnamese waters.
