The story of the first achievement of the HQ 11-91-66

Crew members of the 1st Squadron are monitoring a ship for violations after being anchored next to the Squadron’s flotilla. Picture: T.Bình.

Make a commitment to fight on a special day

On September 10, 2018, in preparation for launch, the Captain of HQ 11-91-66, Pham Duc Chinh and his crewmen, received orders from the 1st Squadron Leader to coordinate with another Task Force of the 1st Squadron to apprehend suspected smugglers. Taking orders, the entire crew on board immediately took action. The ship up-anchored, and at full speed turned into the waves straight for the Gulf of Tonkin to perform their duties.

The new vessel, equipped with modern equipment, a fast speed of up to 30 nautical miles per hour, goes smoothly on the blue waters of Ha Long Bay in the autumn sunlight. But it takes many hours at sea for the new ship to reach the target area. At this time, it began to darken. For those who work in the fight against smuggling at sea, this is always a very sensitive time because of limited visibility, the exact detection of a ship is very difficult.

As soon as the target was detected, visibility for the captain Pham Duc Chinh, was rapidly reduced. At this time of year it is the trans-seasonal time (on the 1st August of the lunar calendar), there is a lot of fog, limited vision, crewmen are very attentive and ready to perform their tasks - the crew on board remind each other to be alert and raise their spirits.

After approaching the target, HQ 11-91-66 reports to the mainland with the leader of the 1st Squadron. Immediately the leader instructs 1st Squadron ships and scouts to proceed to capture the suspected vessel. Taking command of 1st Squadron, a reconnaissance boat and HQ 11-91-66 quickly approaches the target and forms a tightening circle to stop the offending ship from escaping. With the carefully prepared plan and close cooperation, at nearly 8 pm on 10th September, the reconnaissance boats and crews approached the ship, controlled it and questioned the objects.

At the above time, the preliminary inspection of the customs forces determined that the gas tanker did not have documents proving origin. Upon completion of the preliminary inspection work, during the night Task Force 1 and crew members of HQ 11-91-66 continued by escorting the offending ship to the Squadron’s wharves for investigation in accordance with laws and regulations.

It was not until 4am on September 11th that the Customs forces could take the offending ship to anchorage. At this moment, the leader of the 1st Squadron and his comrades were ready to welcome and congratulate the Task Force and HQ11-91-66. At that moment, the joy of the 1st Squadron was multiplied as this was the first victory of HQ 11-91-66, and which also took place on the same day of the traditional 73rd anniversary of Vietnam Customs (10 September, 1945-10 September, 2018).

The 1st Squadron leader added that the arrests included in the patrol plan for control at sea and the specialized units, were approved by the anti-smuggling investigation unit. For many months, the reconnaissance force of the Marine Squadron was in place to detect, understand the rules of trading and illegal transportation of petroleum on the sea, before organizing this "catch".

With many years of experience with many units, working in areas for the Department of Investigation against smuggling, the Commander of Battalion 1, Dao Xuan Thanh shared: The anti-smuggling work is hard, but anti-smuggling at sea is much more difficult.

"In the vast sea, officers and servants are almost independent, actively fighting. Whilst approaching the target, the deployment for capture options is difficult, as smuggler’s ships can easily go out of sight after just one wave."

Relieved by the "new home"

Talking to us in a spacious room in the ship, HQ11-91-66, for receiving guests and common activities, crew members of the ship confided: Previously, many old, low speed ships were the equipment for Squadron 1, so it was very difficult to retrieve and arrest ships engaged in smuggling activities at sea. With new ships, capacity, range and speed, units have been strengthened to feel more secure in the implementation of smuggling prevention.

Not only invested in equipment for professional work, living facilities for crew member’s life on board the ship was also invested in by the Customs to ensure long-term work at sea in HQ11-91-66.

"With the boat trafficking violation on 10 September, during the trip, we encountered disadvantages, because of waves and additional winds of the monsoon season. But thanks to relatively modern equipment, the ship still approached the target, completing the mission,"- the crew shared.

Finishing the story, the crew on board HQ11-91-66 again began to carry out their duty of preventing smuggling. This is not only a daily task but also a very heavy work load for the coming time - the peak period for anti-smuggling crews will be on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2019.

From the shore, HQ 11-91-66 gradually disappears out of sight, only to hear the distant sounds from the vast sea beyond Halong Bay. Whistling sound, as strong as the response to our wishes: We wish you will always accomplish the great tasks entrusted to you!