At V’Spirit Cruises, part of the V’Spirit Premier Cruise, we always have one eye looking to the future. Halong Bay is a home to all of us and, having defended our homeland on numerous occasions over our recent history, V’Spirit Cruises was ready to do so again in Halong Bay with our new enemy – garbage pollution.

Aside from looking unsightly and acting as quite the mood-killer to an otherwise romantic Halong Bay cruise, garbage pollutes the sea of Halong Bay and threatens the ancient life that had been undisturbed until the rise of tourism. In particular, the mangroves and coral reefs of Halong Bay are under serious threat and drastic action needs to be taken before garbage waste kills not only Vietnam’s most recognisable icon, but also the home of many thousands of locals.

As part of our Green Spirit initiative, the V’Spirit Premier Cruise is committed to tackling the problem head on. The eco-friendly practices in which we engage both on and off-cruise go some way towards a greener future for Halong bay, and we began our clean-up program in January 2014 to help exactly that. We started with a cleanup of Soi Sim beach and Cua Van fishing village, something we recognised as a matter of urgency, given the amount of litter in both locations.

During our time on Soi Sim beach, we cleared several bags of garbage from the shore, heading to Cua Van fishing village afterwards to put our team to work on rafts. We drifted around the floating community for a long time, finding garbage in the waterways and on floating barges. Locals have been littering in the bay for years, but are slowly coming to realise the consequences of their actions, and there is a conscious drive amongst many to help clean-up teams when they arrive.

Of course, a green Halong Bay will take a long time to achieve, but with attitudes shifting in Vietnam, there is hope that we will be able to enjoy Halong Bay for many more years to come. On a V’Spirit Premier Cruise cruise, we strongly encourage proper recycling and respect for the environment, meaning the next generations can enjoy Halong Bay for many, many more years to come.