eFoil regulations & spots in Vietnam

Vietnam regulates eFoils in effect, if not by name, through Decree 48/2019/ND-CP of 5 June 2019 on the management of watercraft serving water recreation and entertainment (phuong tien phuc vu vui choi giai tri duoi nuoc), amended by Decree 19/2024/ND-CP. A recreational watercraft is any boat, ship or floating structure carrying no more than five people and used for recreation inside an activity zone approved by the competent authority, which captures jet skis, small speedboats and motorised boards. The Ministry of Transport sets technical standards; approvals are shared between the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the Inland Waterways Administration, provincial Departments of Transport and, since 2024, district-level People's Committees.

Article 6 requires the craft to pass technical inspection to the national standard and to be registered, unless already registered under maritime or inland-waterway law; registration (Article 14) now sits with district-level People's Committees under Decree 19/2024, with communes handling exempt craft. The rider must be at least 15 years old, in good health, and must wear a life jacket for the whole time on the water. For craft with a main engine over 5 horsepower the rider must hold a driving certificate; for smaller motors, safety training from the service provider is enough. Operators must supply life jackets, keep craft inside the zone, post warning signals and maintain safety plans (Article 7), and participants must wear life jackets and take responsibility for their own health (Article 8).

Riding is confined to approved zones (Article 5). Zone 1 covers waters on inland waterway routes, port waters and maritime areas, approved by the Inland Waterways Administration, the provincial Department of Transport or the Maritime Administration depending on the water; Zone 2 covers other waters marked out with buoys or coloured signal flags and approved, since 2024, by the district People's Committee. Authorities also fix the hours in which speedboats and jet skis may run at each location. In practice this means the designated water-sports areas off beaches such as those in Da Nang, Nha Trang, Mui Ne and Phu Quoc, and not the open beach in front of a hotel or the busy ferry and cargo waters of Ha Long Bay and Nha Trang harbour.

Enforcement is by provincial inspectors, the Maritime Administration and border guards; the decree provides for administrative penalties but no figures are given here. For visitors, the only realistic way to ride is through a licensed operator inside its approved zone, which carries the registration, inspection and zone approval. A resident importing a board should expect district-level registration, a technical inspection and, for most eFoil motors (well above 5 hp), a driving certificate, and should check the local zone map before launching.