Port bans ships carrying live pigs and cattle; Phu Quy Island lacks fresh meat.

With soaring prices, tourists on Phu Quy Island are lacking "hot beef" (a local delicacy).

According to a vendor specializing in "hot beef" (whole raw beef processed and sold on the same day) on the island, the cessation of ships transporting this product to the island has caused many difficulties, even leading to supply disruptions at times.

He said that previously, he bought cattle from the mainland, hired the Quan Trung ship to transport them to the island at a cost of nearly 1 million VND per animal, to process for tourists and locals. On average, he imported nearly 100 animals to the island each month.

"But for almost two months, I haven't been able to import any because there are no ships available. Some people have agreed to hire other ships to transport them to the island for about 2.5 million VND per animal. This forces them to raise the selling price to compensate, which greatly affects tourists and residents on the island," a beef vendor on Phu Quy Island (who wished to remain anonymous) complained.

In reality, the price of live pigs on the island has increased by about 80,000 VND/kg compared to when cargo ships were operating normally, reaching 200,000 - 220,000 VND/kg. Similarly, the price of beef has also increased by about 100,000 VND/kg, to over 400,000 VND/kg. However, this price increase shows no sign of stopping if pigs and cattle are still not imported to the island.

According to this person, beef is not only an essential food for locals but is almost a specialty for tourists visiting Phu Quy Island. "Tourists coming here almost always choose to add 'hot beef' to their menu as an alternative to seafood. Due to a shortage of supply, tour companies have had to remove 'hot beef' from their menus," this person said.

According to our investigation, the ships stopped carrying these goods because they were not in accordance with regulations and their intended function. The main transport route for goods from the mainland to Phu Quy Island is carried by two ships, Quan Trung and Quan Trung 2, departing from Phan Thiet port. High-speed boats mainly transport residents and tourists to and from the island; cargo is very limited. Fishing logistics service vessels carrying goods to the island are also not permitted to transport livestock or poultry.

The ban on transporting live livestock and poultry is in accordance with regulations!

Speaking to Tuổi Trẻ newspaper, representatives of the two cargo ships, Quản Trung, stated that their function is to carry general cargo. For decades, in addition to essential necessities (static cargo) stored in the hold, the ships kept live pigs and cattle on deck. Since the port authority required compliance with regulations, the ships no longer carry pigs and cattle.

Explaining the reason for not converting the vessel to comply with regulations, this person stated that this is not the ship's main cargo. "Meanwhile, converting it would significantly increase costs and create additional procedures, while freight rates cannot be increased, making it unfeasible from an economic standpoint. Therefore, we are carefully reconsidering this," this person said.

Meanwhile, in an interview with us, Mr. Do Van Thuan, deputy director of the Binh Thuan Provincial Maritime Port Authority, explained that the cargo ships from the mainland to Phu Quy Island under his management are not qualified to transport livestock. Specifically, the unit only manages and supervises two cargo ships, Quan Trung and Quan Trung 2, which specialize in transporting goods from Phan Thiet port to Phu Quy Island.

According to regulations, neither vessel is functional or qualified to transport live livestock. To transport this type of cargo, the vessels must register for modifications, adding pens and a waste collection system, and only after approval from the registration authority will they be considered for licensing. However, Mr. Thuan acknowledged that the modifications would increase costs, not to mention the complicated procedures.

"The requirement that ships are not allowed to carry live livestock and poultry is in accordance with regulations, ensuring maritime safety is paramount, and is not prohibiting anyone," Mr. Thuan said, suggesting that ship owners should make smaller modifications on their vessels during the periodic inspection to be allowed to carry livestock to serve the needs of the island.