On the weekend, I invited a few of my friends from Hanoi to experience Quang Ninh’s unique tourist ferry route, which is also the only ferry route still operating in the province. Traveling in the heart of heritage on the Tuan Chau – Cat Ba ferry, connecting the two heritage regions of Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh) and Cat Ba Island Biosphere Reserve (Hai Phong), we could not hide our excitement and excitement. fun and feeling really relaxed and peaceful.
Experience traveling by ferry
The Tuan Chau – Cat Ba ferry route was put into operation in 2009, invested and built by Au Lac Quang Ninh Co., Ltd. (Tuan Chau Group), and has been building for 15 years now. This is an important and fastest waterway connecting the two coastal cities of Ha Long and Hai Phong and is also a special ferry route connecting two world heritage regions.
The ferry route has a length of 7.8km including the journey to and from two wharves: Tuan Chau (Ha Long City, Quang Ninh) and Gia Luan wharf (Cat Hai district, Hai Phong). The ferry has a tonnage of 120 tons, a capacity of 200 passengers, can transport 25 cars of all types with 50 seats or less at the same time, has a capacity of 45 minutes/trip and can dock at least 2 ferries/turn at the same time.
Therefore, traffic at both ends of the wharf is always guaranteed to be smooth, so visitors do not have to wait long, especially on peak days. Every day the ferry operates 10-12 trips, transporting hundreds of tourists back and forth. Especially in the summer, the number of visitors can reach more than 1,000 people per day.
With a speed that is not too fast (45 minutes/trip), the Tuan Chau – Cat Ba sea ferry route always brings a smooth and relaxing feeling to tourists on the ferry. Instead of sitting in a closed compartment with limited visibility on ships, on this cruise route, we can expand our horizons and admire the wonderful natural picture of Ha Long Bay with thousands of large limestone islands. small with unique shapes in the middle of peaceful turquoise water, relax your body to catch the cool breeze from the sea, get a panoramic view of Bai Chay Bridge – the longest single-span cable-stayed bridge in Southeast Asia, see the village Ba Hang fishing boat, Trong Mai island, Gia Luan aquaculture raft area…
The Tuan Chau – Cat Ba ferry runs in the sheltered area of Ha Long Bay, which is surrounded by thousands of limestone mountains, so it is less affected by waves, wind and other weather factors. If on windy days of level 5 or 6, when other ferry routes in Hai Phong or neighboring areas of Quang Ninh province have to stop operating, the Tuan Chau – Cat Ba ferry will still operate normally. In addition, the ferry is fully equipped with lifesaving, firefighting, medical equipment and communication with the mainland in accordance with tourist ferry standards.
Slowly entering the heart of the world’s natural heritage and then gently docking at the world biosphere reserve, the ferry route takes visitors from one level to another of emotions. My friend said that although he had taken the ferry a few times as a child, this was the first time he had traveled by ferry. It feels great, like returning to childhood and seeing Ha Long so beautiful.
Time on the ferry is the beginning of an exciting journey of experiences ahead and is also meaningful moments for each of us to slow down and feel more deeply about the beauty of our homeland and country.
The people who keep the ferry rhythm
The time waiting for the ferry and nearly 1 hour of traveling on the ferry were enough for us to observe and learn more about the work of ferry drivers. On the wharf, there will usually be a captain, a deputy wharf, and a team to manage ticket sales, check tickets, guide people and vehicles to get on and off the ferry in order, and coordinate between the two ends of the wharf to manage passenger vehicles. customers, ensuring safety. The crew on the ferry usually consists of 6 people: Captain, chief engineer and sailors.
Before each ferry trip, the Management Board coordinates with the captain, chief engineer and crew to carefully check safety equipment such as life buoy systems, life jackets, valve systems, and fire extinguishers before ferrying. Operate to ensure safety and promptly respond if an incident occurs. Normally, each ferry vehicle has about 120 life buoys and nearly 300 life jackets for adults and children.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thai, Deputy Director of Tuan Chau Port, said: 7:30 is the ferry’s operating time, so at 6:30 we had to check the driving vehicle and steering switch to see if it was working properly and the life buoys were complete. Not yet. Currently, all ferries are self-propelled, so careful inspection of equipment is especially important to ensure tourists have a safe journey.
Talking to us, captain Vu Van Cong shared: The captain is the person responsible for driving the ferry and must understand very well the rules of the water and the channels to steer the ferry to dock safely. During the ferry’s movement, the chief engineer will be in charge of checking technical parameters and monitoring the operating machinery system, adding timely water supply to the machine for seamless and safe operation. The chief engineer and captain also regularly connect by radio to control the technical parameters displayed on the watch. When the ferry is close to docking, the captain will use the radio to contact the wharf captain to understand the situation on the wharf and prepare for the ferry to dock. The sailors on the ferry will coordinate to guide passengers.
The last ferry of the day leaves Tuan Chau wharf at 3:00 p.m. and arrives at Gia Luan ferry wharf, Hai Phong at 4:00 p.m. Then the ferry will turn around to carry passengers from Gia Luan wharf to Tuan Chau, ending at 5:00 p.m. On crowded days, the number of trips may be increased to ensure the travel needs of residents and tourists are met.
The work of ferry drivers therefore has no days off. On holidays, they even have to work harder because the number of passengers on these days doubles, and they don’t even finish work until 9-10 pm.
The ferries connecting the two heritage regions have existed for 15 years and ferry drivers, in addition to the task of safely transporting passengers, also play a significant part in promoting the beauty of the heritage of Ha Long Bay – Cat She comes to tourists, contributing her small effort to keep the ferries always flowing peacefully in the sky and water of Ha Long.
