Boat float safety for seafarers

Nguyen Xuan An himself did not expect to be an inventor when he was at the age of ' cross-briquette . Furthermore, it is not a geological invention that he has over 40 years of dedication to, and is a far cry from, fisheries.

It all started from the storm Chan Chu. One day in mid-May 2006, as usual, after dinner, the grandparents sat in front of the television. The storm formed too quickly in the South China Sea, the wind gust to level 12, level 13 has just landed in the Central region, took away the lives of 246 fishermen, many people are young squid fishing by a basket boat that has encountered storms and losses. .

An experiment in Da Nang sea: The overturned pontoon boat becomes a lifeline for fishermen to cling to.

Loss is too big! At that time in his mind suddenly appeared a small round basket boat, hoping for a small squid in the middle of the sea, but in his childhood, he had to follow the adults to sea sometimes. An idea suddenly popped into his head, he turned to her sitting beside him, asking: ' Hey, can I turn that basket boat into a lifebuoy whenever I get hit by a storm? '. She nodded approvingly, Mr. An sat right at his desk.

That night, he was awake, calculating, working out one sketch after another. Model of a basket boat into a life buoy and a ' Safe boat for seafaring ' project was born so quickly and unexpectedly!

The key to this transformation, is to add a light block of pierced styro foam to the boat and punch a hole in the bottom with the opening and closing buttons. If a normal boat meets a large wave, it will be overthrown, and with the improved boat, the victim will open the water valve to balance the outside, while the foam plastic becomes a buoy that makes the boat unable to sink.

The boat also has a ligament system around it for victims to easily attach; Between them and the boat, add a seat belt so that when the big wind waves don't knock people off the buoy, the worst possibility if they die is not lost.

Initially, Mr. An used the model of the bamboo squid fishing boat for fishermen, made improvements and was tested by the Ministry of Fisheries for the first time in Ho Tay, Hanoi. As a result, bamboo floats have new features compared to traditional squid fishing boats.

Do not stop there, he upgraded the material of boat cover is composite with high impact strength. He then moved the test site to the coastal city of Danang, where ocean squid fishing teams were located. He went to two places like a shuttle. When coming to the authorities for help, when going to the ward to discuss with fishermen, then set up a manufacturer and a producer . Of course with a retired person, a voluntary inventor like him, then every The cost of work comes from out-of-pocket money and perhaps his doing well with the proverb ' eat lunch and jail .' But he ' carried the prison and the general goods ' with a clear mind, without any more hesitation. The fishermen eagerly received new facilities and enthusiastically transmitted the experience to him, the " pagan " about catching seafood, so that he had the conditions to supplement and complete his work.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan An at the buoy boat workshop in Da Nang.

New model of buoy boats with the symbol ' AN ' was born: AN-1-TP; AN3 is used for barrier nets; AN5 for ocean squid fishing. Besides the model of boat float, after the sinking in Quang Binh, many students died, he also expanded the application for two-boat boats and cooperated with a composite company in Phu Ly and Ha Nam to successfully test. model of pontoon boat with the first two noses for the Cam Son area, Bac Giang, where there is a wharf near a school.

In September 2006, the Ministry of Fisheries (old) established a science and technology council to consider the work of Mr. Nguyen Xuan An. The Council has accepted and assessed well and proposed the Department of Aquatic Resource Exploitation and Protection, the National Fisheries Extension Center and the author of the project to organize guidance and transfer to fishermen for trial use with the number. 10 pcs, then continue to complete the project before putting it into mass use.

Then the National Office of Intellectual Property, Ministry of Science and Technology granted a patent to improve his " boat - life buoy ". In 2007, the project has won many awards, ensuring a truly scientific and technical progress: Techmart Gold Cup Vietnam; First prize - Technical innovation award for Fisheries industry; By creative labor of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor; Consolation Prize of Vietnam Science and Technology Innovation Award.

Thus, everything is collusion, the idea of ​​" head has gone " .

Recently, I visited the author of the project at his home, saw a pontoon boat of 3 meters in diameter still hanging in front of the yard. The face of the host is not happy when I ask why this boat is here, but not in a coastal fishing village? According to Nguyen Xuan An, the reason the work is in the state of ' tail has not reached ', just because of lack of capital.

The former Ministry of Fisheries (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), together with the local government, can only finance the trial production of a few units, when it has been tested, it is the ship owners themselves who have to pay capital to repair New tool for yourself. Switch here. The long-term practice of ship owners is that they have equipped themselves with a number of squid fishing boats and hired fishermen to catch them. Now, they invest a few tens of millions of dong each time. a big investment for a while, when each sailing like ' gambling ', is incalculable (the improved buoy costs about twice as much as a conventional jet boat). So cannot be completely responsible for the owners.

The aspiration of Mr. Nguyen Xuan An, if the State sees practical benefits, needs replication, it should have a policy of supporting capital with preferential interest rates for ship owners , so that they can renew their equipment. Besides, it is necessary to pay attention to pilot investment in some localities, so as to be able to draw more experience. He sent a letter to 16 presidents of the provinces from the sea to Thanh Hoa, stating the need to support capital for fishermen and the direction of implementation .

During the conversation, when he was about to see off his guests, it seemed that he did not want his worries to ' spread ' to me, he said, the geological profession had given him a sense of optimism, such as finding the mine first. all must have faith, perseverance and patience, there is a ray of hope still to find .