Viet Nam national icon steeped in blood pollution

Different areas of Ha Long Bay, recently voted the world wonder in northern coastal Quang Ninh province, are seriously polluted.

A test that is performed by the Bay Board in June showed that water near the coast contained excessive amounts of oil, although 43 other locations around the Bay were not polluted.

The ports of Nam Trang and Ha had the highest Khanh Cau oil pollution, far above the legally allowable limit.

Oil was also seen floating in the water of Bai Chay tourism Port and other sites where tourist boats anchor, such as Vung Dang, Lan and Ben Doan.

Tourist boats and cargo ships, good for a large part of the pollution, said Le Tuan Lam, head of the Council Environment Department.

"More than 520 tourist boats are active in Ha Long Bay, but most are small, with a cylinder capacity of less than 220 KW. Only 20% of them are equipped with standard treatment of waste systems, "he said.
Ships at anchor in the Bay and illegally discharged water mixed with oil were also at fault, he said.

Oil pollution in seawater can lead to serious damage to marine life, Ha the ten of Viet long maritime Technical Service Joint Stock Company thiennhien.net told online newspaper. A seemingly small amount of oil, such as 0.1 mg, can kill small creatures that food for fish and shrimp. When the oil spreads on the water, reduces the amount of available oxygen-death to marine organisms.

According to Tuan, inspectors can not easily cracking on boats that emptied waste water mixed with oil in the water as oil spreads rapidly over the surface, making it difficult to trace.

Currently no boat owners are caught red-handed drained oil into the sea.

To fix the problem, the Governing Council owners of tourist boats to install waste oil filters asked. The Governing Council also proposed implementation of regular checks on boats to ensure the abolition of worn ships.

According to Tuan, the provincial authority plans to merge Nam Trang Khanh-port to port with Ha Cau oil pollution around the docks. The merger is expected to be complete by 2013.

The Governing Council also asked cargo ships to move to Cam Pha port loading and unloading of goods instead of anchoring in the Bay as a means of prevention of pollution, he said.