Judul : Inside the Ha Long Bay cruise disaster: What went wrong?
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Inside the Ha Long Bay cruise disaster: What went wrong?
The Ha Long Bay cruise disaster that killed 37 exposed fatal safety gaps, from missing emergency alerts to slow rescue response.
The Vinh Xanh 58 vessel, carrying 46 tourists and 3 crew members, left Bai Chay Port at 12:55 p.m. on July 19. By 1:30 p.m., sudden storms near Dau Go Cave overturned the ship, throwing everyone overboard. At 2:05 p.m., the ship's GPS signal was lost. Yet rescue teams were not alerted until 3:30 p.m., nearly two hours after the ship capsized, the Quang Ninh military command said on July 20.
Survivors described chaotic scenes, with passengers rescuing each other as many remained trapped inside. As of July 22, 37 people are confirmed dead, two are still missing, and just 10 survived.
No automatic emergency alerts
Despite being certified safe by the Quang Ninh Department of Transport, Vinh Xanh 58 had critical design flaws. The ship lacked an automatic distress system, meaning it could not signal for help after losing GPS contact in a sudden incident, when crew members do not have enough time to respond, said Pham Ha, CEO of Lux Group, which owns lines of luxurious cruise ships in Lan Ha Bay near Ha Long and Nha Trang in central Vietnam.
Experts say a basic EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon) could have triggered instant alerts. Such a system would have automatically triggered when the ship sank, sending distress signals to rescue centers.
"Authorities may have immediately received an alert the moment Vinh Xanh 58 capsized," an expert said.
Monitoring failures
Under Quang Ninh’s safety rules, all Ha Long Bay cruise ships must follow approved routes tracked via GPS. Any route changes require permission from the Bay Management Board.
Before each trip, captains must submit passenger lists, secure departure permits and have their ship’s GPS system checked. Border guards and port authorities are required to monitor vessels in real time.
But when Vinh Xanh 58 lost GPS contact at 2:05 p.m. on July 19, no alert was raised. Border guards did not receive a report until 3:30 p.m., nearly 90 minutes later.
Authorities have not explained whether the GPS signal loss was noticed or why no action was taken. The failure of the monitoring system likely delayed rescue efforts.
Outdated forecasts blamed
Quang Ninh rules require captains to steer directly in crowded areas or bad weather like rain, fog or strong winds, while engineers stay in the engine room and crew monitor the decks. Passengers are banned from standing near the ship's sides, bow, stern or promenade deck during dangerous conditions.
If weather turns unsafe, captains must warn passengers, seek shelter and report their location to maritime authorities, who are responsible for issuing storm warnings.
But when the sudden storm hit Vinh Xanh 58, the ship capsized within seconds. There was no time to warn passengers, steer to safety, or call for help.
At a July 19 meeting, officials said Quang Ninh’s maritime authorities rely on Ha Long Bay weather forecasts updated just three times a day. On July 19, reports at 6:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. predicted clear skies and light winds. The Vinh Xanh 58’s departure at 12:45 p.m. was approved. A storm warning was only issued at 1:30 p.m., when the ship was already in danger.
Ha said Vietnam has no official guidelines for handling sudden squalls. Even other countries lack formal protocols. But in the U.S., captains can access real-time data through sites like windy.com to make critical decisions mid-journey.
He said Vietnam’s fixed 6-hour forecasts are dangerously outdated and called for real-time storm warnings powered by radar, wave buoys, satellite data and AI. He stressed that alerts must be region-specific, easy to understand and broadcast across mobile apps, ship radios and onboard displays.
Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered a large-scale investigation into the case, demanding strict accountability and urgent reforms to maritime safety protocols.
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