The new Đồng Bài ferry terminal (Cát Hải district, Hải Phòng City) was put into operation to replace the Gót ferry terminal since March 1st, 2024. Đồng Bài ferry terminal is 8 hectares wide, which is 1.5 times larger than the old ferry terminal. The new ferry has a capacity of 200 tons, is equipped with a powerful engine. The travel time for each trip is 15 minutes, which is one and a half times faster than the old ferry.
However, the Đồng Bài ferry terminal was quickly overloaded on the morning of April 28th when thousands of people flocked to the ferry terminal to travel to Cát Bà island.
The traffic jam started around 7 am and by 10 am, the number of vehicles queuing up increased. Earlier, Hải Phòng had issued a document requesting the Đồng Bài ferry terminal to temporarily stop transporting cars and trucks from the mainland to Cát Bà island from 9 am to 1 pm on the same day (except for vehicles with priority according to the law).
At 10:00 am, the line of vehicles stretched for about a kilometer from the ferry terminal to the ticket control station near the Tân Vũ – Lạch Huyện highway. Mr. Nguyễn Văn Bình (Thái Bình) said that he had been queuing since 8:00 am and by 10:30 am, he had only reached the area preparing to board the ferry. He predicted that it would be past 11:00 am before he could depart.
Due to the long wait, many locals and tourists chose to get out of their vehicles to get some fresh air.
Many sections were gridlocked, forcing motorcyclists to weave onto the sidewalk to enter.
The ferry ticket booth was also overloaded, with tourists waiting wearily in the 33-degree heat. Ms. Thu Bình (Hải Phòng) shared: “My family and I decided to return to the city center to enjoy the holiday. The wait has been tiring for my family and me because we’ve been waiting all morning and still haven’t been able to get on the ferry”.
According to observations, from 8:00 am to 11:00 am on April 28th, motorcyclists and pedestrians were given their own separate lines, so it took them only 10-30 minutes to get on the ferry. Cars were still allowed on the ferry, but only about 10 vehicles per trip. Therefore, people traveling by private car had to queue for quite a long time.
Meanwhile, many other tourists chose to travel by the Cát Hải – Phù Long cable car to reach Cát Bà island for their vacation. The station was quite large and spacious. The number of people traveling was not too crowded, so there was almost no need to queue.
Ms. Đỗ Thanh Hiền (Hải Phòng) and her family took the cable car and said: “I think taking the cable car is very convenient, beautiful, cool, clean, and especially fast, avoiding the sun and suitable for young children. However, the disadvantage compared to taking the ferry is that you have to leave your vehicle on the Cát Hải side. Therefore, the family’s movement on the island is not proactive”.
In return, her child seemed quite delighted when experiencing the cable car and admiring the sea from above.
Cát Bà is a familiar destination for tourists on weekends and holidays. During the April 30th – May 1st holiday in 2023, Cát Bà tourist area welcomed about 37,000 visitors. This year, the holiday period is longer (5 days), the number of tourists to Cát Bà is expected to be higher, around 40,000.
