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| A Vinpearl submersible in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province__Photo: https://baochinhphu.vn/ |
The Ministry of Transport has released a draft decree amending Decree 58 of 2017, with a proposal of putting tourist submersibles into operation and managing them based on their designed operation areas.
Under the draft, a tourist submersible would be permitted to operate after its owner being an institutional applicant requests approval of its underwater operation areas, meets requirements on crew members, and requests approval of a plan on putting it into operation.
Crew members working on board a tourist submersible include a captain in charge of its operation and other members who assist the captain in controlling the submersible.
Since tourist submersibles are manufactured based on unique designs, the training and coaching of individuals to be engaged in serving tourist diving activities would not be carried out by Vietnam-based training institutions with insufficient equipment for practical training.
In order to ensure safety for both tourists and crew members, the draft requires crew members to meet health and working age requirements specified by Vietnam’s laws. A crew member must possess a certificate of basic professional training for crew members and a submersible operation certificate issued by the manufacturer, and other relevant specialized degrees and certificates.
At least one hour before a diving trip, a submersible operator would have to send a notice of the trip by facsimile or via email to the local port authority, providing information about crew members and passengers on board to serve the latter’s monitoring and inspection.- (VLLF)
