Reporters observed that dozens of concrete poles were installed in the wrong positions along a busy waterway near the Kenh Moi river mouth in Ca Mau Province. Fishermen are worried because the mistake could cause accidents for the many boats that pass every day.

The poles have no warning lights and can become completely submerged at high tide, making them hard to see at night or in rough seas, reporters from Tuoi Tre observed. Because they are low in the water, boat drivers may not notice them until it is too late.

Hundreds of fishing boats and small motorboats travel this waterway each day. A collision could damage a boat or even make it capsize, which would hurt the owners because a small boat costs about VND100 million (US$3,900) and a larger one costs twice as much, a value that many families rely on for their livelihood, said Tran Thi Trang.

Nguyen Ngoc Nguyen, deputy head of the Economic Office of Da Bac Commune, explained that 65 concrete poles were placed for a green mussel farming project, but some were installed outside their designated coordinates and now block the waterway. The commune plans to relocate all incorrectly positioned poles by mid‑December, weather permitting.