Phuket tour boats overturn in storm, rescue mission launched

[wealthychef]

14 hours ago, Old Croc said:

I am surprised they were out there and hadn't made all haste back to shore before the weather hit. 

It was forecast and even I knew it was coming.

 

Profit over safety too often in Thailand.  This is the downside of "deregulated markets."  

 

[NCC1701A]

RIP.

 

OK. That being said, it's time for the photo caption contest:

 

"I told you this Thailand boat tour was too cheap to be real"

Or

"We got their money, should we throw them back?"

 

 

[Old Croc]

I live a couple of kilometers from Chalong Pier.

At the height of the storm I was at the back door watching and waiting for a huge tree nearby to come down. It was waving around like a twig. 

The wind gusts were among the most violent I've seen and I've been through a cyclone.

In a video where a number of boats are holding position to ride out the storm, the sea almost looks calm. I think such strong winds leveled out the chop to make it appear almost calm. It was anything but.

[quadperfect]

44 minutes ago, cornishcarlos said:

Tour boat, tour bus they all end up upside down...

It's a turny over kind of country !!

 

Guess old Capitano didn't check the weather forecast before setting out for the day, or was this a freak storm that appeared with no warning ??

Yes it was a freak of nature. In a decade i have never seen this powerfull of a storm jere in phuket sustained winds above 40 knots for 3 hours often hitting mid 50 knots in stronger gusts.

Warning from met office was youre generic warning. They never get it right cause mother nature rules.

The weather was for 20 knots light rain possible .

3 weeks ago same thing but not as bad.but 5 days of teally bad weather.

Bottom line this year seems to be mostly mild weather  then these severe type storms with 40 knots sustained gusting higher for many hours.

Normally we see 40 knots for 5 minutes tops then it just rains with 20 knots for hours untill the next squall front of a 5 minute duration.

This year is very different.

There will be some changes. There always are.

Phuket changes a lot ,just not as fast as its growing.

 

[webfact]

Thailand boat accident: One dead, 56 missing after tourist boat sinks

 

Rescued people sit on a fishing boat after a boat they were travelling in capsized off the tourist island of Phuket, Thailand July 5, 20

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Chinese man has died and 56 other people are missing after a tourist boat capsized in turbulent waters off the coast of Thailand's popular Phuket tourist island.

 

The boat, called the Phoenix, was carrying 105 passengers, including 93 Chinese tourists and 12 Thai crew and tourist guides, when it capsized, officials said on Friday. They said a rescue operation was underway to find the missing 56.

 

"One person is dead, 11 injured (2 have severe injuries, 5 minor) and 56 are missing. We continue to gather a team to search for them," the Water Safety Department of the Harbour Department said.

 

"Forty-eight were saved," it said.

 

The department said a dead man was pulled from the water.

 

The Royal Thai Marine Corps said in a statement that the Phoenix sank about 7-kms (5 miles) from the shore and the boat had sunk to a depth of about 38-40 metres (yards).

 

"We will search under the belly of the boat," the Marines said.

 

The Chinese embassy in Bangkok said in a statement that it had requested the Thai government make all-out rescue efforts, and that it had sent a team to Phuket to help.

 

It added that the Chinese consulate in southern Thailand already had staffers on the scene helping its citizens.

 

The Serenta, another boat sailing in the same area, also capsized. The yacht was carrying 35 tourists, five crew and a guide. Most of the passengers onboard the yacht have been rescued but two are still missing, the department said.

 

Thailand is in the midst of its monsoon season which begins in May and usually ends in October. The monsoon season often brings high winds to coastal areas and flash storms.

 

Thailand has poor road and boat safety records. Many tour operators have complained about lax enforcement when it comes to basic safety measures, including seatbelts in cars and lifejackets on boats.

 

More than 20 people were killed when a tourist boat carrying 150 people capsized in Thailand's ancient city of Ayutthaya in 2016. Officials blamed the accident on overcrowding and reckless piloting.

 

Chinese tourists make up the biggest foreign visitors to Thailand, with numbers surging in recent years due to the increasing popularity of Thailand's islands and cosmopolitan.

 

(Reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panarat Thepgumpanat: Additional reporting by Gao Liangping and Ben Blanchard in Beijing: Editing by Neil Fullick)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-06

 

[BernieOnTour]

47 minutes ago, webfact said:

Hei, 4-5 metres wave hit the front part of our boat. Sea water flushed inside the vessel. The water pump was not fast enough to pump water out and the boat began to lean.”

Hei, come on Mr. "Captain" !

 

I am sure, there is a considerable number of yachties here in Thailand, who also experienced 4-5m waves throughout their sailing career.

- And their boats weren't "flushed", "began to lean" due to the bilge pump not being "fast enough" and finally sinking.

 

My conclusions, from what I have seen as tour boats in Thailand waters and reading from the news:

1) Unsufficient knowledge of hard weather fighting tactics

2) Bad tour preparation

3) Bad maintenance 

4) Boat modifications by amateurs, increasing the top weight so that it could be overloaded with 105 passengers - resulting in a changed stability curve with a heavily decreased AVS (angle of vanishing stability).

5) Carrying 100 passengers -and only 1 bilge pump "not fast enough" ???, did it even work?

 

You hit the waves at the front...

... Why could the water flush in the boat, hull break due to bad maintenance?

... Even, if so: why did the water flush through the whole boat, so that it could lean  over, instead of sinking in at the bow? 105 passengers and not even 1 separated watertight department in the bow section with own bilge pumps? 

 

However, at least: you saved your own life !

... instead that of the 7 missing, who trusted  your seamanship !

 

 

[jaiyen]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

The sea in the pictures doesn't look that rough to me. Maybe these photos were taken after 'the storm'.

 

I have to question how sea worthy these vessels are.

You obviously are not a seaman or diver. It is not about it being rough, which it is, but the swells are huge too. Look at the left side of the photo at the big swell. Also the tourist divers were stupid to go out in that weather.

[marko kok prong]

Waiting for this to happen,Thai govt met site clearly states high wind waves and small boats should stay ashore in this area,but as with every thing here money number 1.

[stevenl]

12 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

You obviously are not a seaman or diver. It is not about it being rough, which it is, but the swells are huge too. Look at the left side of the photo at the big swell. Also the tourist divers were stupid to go out in that weather.

The tourists are leaving from a sheltered port. On top of that, they should be able to trust the tour operator. No way you can blame the tourists for this.

 

With the weather we had yesterday, and with the forecasts as well, I would have gone out, and don't know anybody who has cancelled. There was no reason to cancel yesterday morning. An early return could have been in place, but to judge that I would have had to be on the boat, and yesterday I was in the shop.

Edited July 6, 2018 by stevenl

[anon537687643]

Incompetent bunch ! Not fit to be called “Captain of a public vessel at sea”


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[anon537687643]

 
Good to see the captain and crew were not among the missing.
The captain looks to have stayed dry so I guess he was able to get into a life raft ok.

Yes! The principal of Captain last to leave his ship doesn’t apply in LOS


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[FitnessHealthTravel]

Horrible but always expected. Why...because there is way too much money at stake to call off these big tours plus there is also the possibility of overloading and most of these guests probably can't swim.  This many on one dive boat is insane and this is the outcome.  RIP to the people who won't make it, and I am sure there will be many.  Very sad news!

[Wanpi]

Seamanship would appear to be lacking here.  No reason, in these sheltered waters, for a boat to capsize if it was handled correctly and pointed into the waves

[partjfos]

If the reporting is accurate it looks like 40+ people are dead, probably trapped in the boat.

 

I guess the abandon ship command was probably delayed until the last few seconds, most people were probably sheltering below deck and with only 1 or 2 narrow staircases, the boat tilting to one side, bulky lifejackets on, and probably elderly and children too, its easy to see why they wouldnt all make it up to the top deck.

 

The crew are always likely to survive in incidents like this because they are more aware whats happening, theyre younger and probably fitter, they can probably swim... etc.

[nausea]

Just now, partjfos said:

its easy to see why they wouldnt all make it up to the top deck.

Especially if the captain was directing operations from a life raft.

[ChrisY1]

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

 

Good to see the captain and crew were not among the missing.

The captain looks to have stayed dry so I guess he was able to get into a life raft ok.

I'm sure he did.....no such thing passengers first here!

[NanLaew]

4 hours ago, dcsw53 said:

97 divers on a boat sounds improbable. I scuba dive a lot and for this many people PLUS all the gear, you are talking a very large vessel. More likely a group of snorkelers judging from the photos.
Questions will be asked, and "valuable lessons will be learned", e.g. a whitewash will happen. LOS tourism is not for changing.
This could be avoided by having an empowered harbourmaster ( I know I am dreaming ) who has a team responsible for ensuring boats are not overloaded and is able to red flag any passenger boats going out on bad weather days. Like the life guards do on the beach.

The pictures in this article are credited to the Phuket Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

 

Prevention:  the act or practice of stopping something bad from happening : the act of preventing something : the act or practice of keeping something from happening.

 

Mitigation: the process or result of making something less severe, dangerous, painful, harsh, or damaging.

 

Since Prevention and Mitigation seems to have slipped their minds, they will be known for now as the Phuket Department of Nice Photography at Sea.

[anon537687643]

This is the news that needs word wide TV attention as much as the Cave escapade ! But I guess it be brushed aside only ,40-50 dead Chinese


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[Rimmer]

A troll post repeated four times has been removed, along with one reply

[ostyan]

15 hours ago, Old Croc said:

Not surprised boats got in trouble in that wind. I am surprised they were out there and hadn't made all haste back to shore before the weather hit. 

It was forecast and even I knew it was coming.

 

Hope all are ok.

Business.... money..... baht, baht, baht

[partjfos]

27 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

This many on one dive boat is insane and this is the outcome

Itll be a snorkeling boat with that many people. Diving in thai is dam nam and in my experience thais say this whether they mean snorkeling or diving, so probably just a translation gone slightly wrong. Chinese arent big divers anyway.

 

Ive taken trips around the trang islands and to angthong marine park and phi phi with 100+ people on them, never felt unsafe and i dont agree that more people necessarily means more unsafe as long as the safety measures are scaled up and proportionate to the number of passengers.

 

The bigger the boat the better in rough seas, actually.

[Zack61]

One of the hazards of pre booked tour activities. No opportunity to assess conditions closer to departure. This trip was likely booked and paid for weeks in advance by the passengers as part of the itinerary they were paying for.  Locked them into the trip or squander their payment for it. 

[aloha23]

Edited July 6, 2018 by aloha23

[Psimbo]

12 hours ago, Maverell said:

Sorry to be a bit cynical, but these boat operators knew exactly what the weather conditions were like, and the forecast, but as always money is the driving factor. Not safety.

Yep- forecasts are always 100% accurate aren't they!

[saminoz]

33 minutes ago, nausea said:

Especially if the captain was directing operations from a life raft.

A "Captain" who probably bought his four gold bars in a Khao San gift shop and his "qualifications"on the same road!

He needs to be held responsible, as should the owners of the business for criminal negligence.

Edited July 6, 2018 by saminoz

[Old York]

Probably a line squall caused by a front of linked thunderstorms with a distinctive roll cloud in front. Often fast moving with very high winds for about 20 mins. Boats should ride it out with their bow to the wind and waves and when it has passed over resume course to shore. An experienced crew should recognise this phenomenon and take appropriate action.

[webfact]

Phuket tour boat disaster: 7 more dead found, dozens still missing

The Phuket News

 

Phuket Governor and accompanying officials walk along Chalong Pier this morning, ahead of seven bodies reported as being transported back to Phuket. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

 

PHUKET: A Royal Thai Navy helicopter took to the sky at first light this morning as the search continued in the hope of finding 58 people still missing from the two boat sinkings amid the storm late yesterday afternoon.

 

Just before 11am today, officers at Chalong Pier confirmed that seven bodies recovered this morning were being back brought to Phuket at Chalong Pier.

 

Speaking from the Phuket Marine Office at Chalong Pier, Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong early today (July 6) confirmed that the body of one Chinese tourist had been recovered near Koh Aeo. That body was brought ashore last night. Reporters at the scene confirmed that the body was still wearing a life vest emblazoned with the logo of the Phoenix tour boat that sank yesterday.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/phuket-tour-boat-disaster-7-more-dead-found-dozens-still-missing-67770.php#B1ZSjYWTkRsT62Wt.97

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2018-07-06

[sawadee1947]

If you go to a 3rd world country you will get 3rd world safety standard.

[lvr181]

5 hours ago, dcsw53 said:

97 divers on a boat sounds improbable. I scuba dive a lot and for this many people PLUS all the gear, you are talking a very large vessel. More likely a group of snorkelers judging from the photos.
Questions will be asked, and "valuable lessons will be learned", e.g. a whitewash will happen. LOS tourism is not for changing.
This could be avoided by having an empowered harbourmaster ( I know I am dreaming ) who has a team responsible for ensuring boats are not overloaded and is able to red flag any passenger boats going out on bad weather days. Like the life guards do on the beach.

Unfortunately, as always, MONEY is king in the kingdom!

 

"valuable lessons will be learned". You're right, only excuses will be forthcoming.

"Empowered harbourmaster"? Have to give that person a huge pay rise (along with draconian conditions e.g. jail for not doing the job properly) to offset the brown envelopes.

 

I too, am dreaming. 

[saminoz]

8 minutes ago, Old York said:

Probably a line squall caused by a front of linked thunderstorms with a distinctive roll cloud in front. Often fast moving with very high winds for about 20 mins. Boats should ride it out with their bow to the wind and waves and when it has passed over resume course to shore. An experienced crew should recognise this phenomenon and take appropriate action.

Exactly right!  Anyone with a reasonable amount of seagoing experience should be able to recognise this scenario and act accordingly.

As the old adage says: "the right time to take in sail in such conditions, is when you first think of it".

The "captain's" experience and qualifications should be put under a microscope, as should the construction, modification history, maintenace and safety inspection records of this passenger vessel.

Of course, this being Thailand..............................