Thai minister blames Chinese tour operators for Phuket boat disaster

[webfact]

Thai minister blames Chinese tour operators for boat disaster

 

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha sits next to a relative of Chinese tourists involved in a sunken tourist boat accident at a hospital in Phuket, Thailand, July 9, 2018. REUTERS/Sooppharoek Teepapan

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai government minister on Monday blamed Chinese tour operators for the deaths of more than 40 people, most of them Chinese tourists, in a boat accident off a resort island last weekend, as divers searched for 11 people still missing.

 

The boat, the Phoenix, went down in high seas on Thursday off the west-coast island of Phuket with 101 people on board, including 89 tourists, all but two of them from China, and 12 crew, during an outing to a small island for snorkeling.

 

The death toll, which is likely to surpass 50, makes it the worst tourist-related disaster in Thailand in years and underscores long-standing concerns about the industry's safety.

 

The rainy season now under way can bring fierce squalls and high seas in southern Thailand, especially off its west coast, and questions have been raised about why the boat had set out to sea despite warnings of bad weather.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan blamed Chinese tour operators for not respecting Thai safety legislation.

 

"Some Chinese use Thai nominees to bring Chinese tourists in ... they did not heed warnings ... which is why this incident happened. This needs to be remedied," Prawit said.

 

He did not elaborate.

 

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued an urgent circular on Saturday, stressing the importance of researching online travel companies when booking overseas trips.

 

Many of those onboard the Phoenix had booked travel independently via online tour operators, the ministry said.

 

Earlier, authorities said the boat was carrying 105 people. They later revised the figure saying that some of those booked did not join the outing.

 

"Officially, 11 people are still missing," Phuket provincial governor Noraphat Plodthong told a news conference.

"We will continue the search today."

 

Thailand's tourism ministry said it would give 1 million baht ($30,202) in compensation to each family of the victims.

 

Tourism accounts for about 12 percent of gross domestic product in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy, making it one of the most important drivers of growth, and such disasters inevitably raise questions about damage to the industry.

 

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday that China had asked the Thai government to expand the rescue effort, protect the rights of Chinese citizens and fully investigate the cause of the accident.

 

Chinese tourists accounted for nearly one-third of last year's record 35 million arrivals.

 

But despite accidents, political turmoil and even bomb attacks over the past decade, the tourism sector seems immune to bad headlines, earning it the nickname "Teflon Thailand".

 

In August 2015, 20 people were killed, many of them Chinese tourists, in a bombing at a Bangkok shrine, the worst attack of its kind on Thai soil.

 

Chinese tourist arrivals dipped slightly after the attack but soon recovered.

 

(Reporting by Aukkarapon Niyomyat, Pracha Hariraksapitak, Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat in BANGKOK and Philip Wen in PHUKET; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Robert Birsel and Darren Schuettler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-10

[Mango Bob]

It is the Thai Captain of the Boat that is at fault no one else.   Don't place blame on the Chinese when it was the Thai's at fault. .   The captain of the boat is the person in charge.   Stop blaming others and not yourself.

[tracker1]

As usual their main concerns is a drop in tourism !

"Some Chinese use Thai nominees to bring Chinese tourists in ... they did not heed warnings ... which is why this incident happened. This needs to be remedied," Prawit said.

 

He did not elaborate. Should have said let's form a committee have a meeting and a powerpoint presentataion

[BigBadGeordie]

7 minutes ago, tracker1 said:

 

He did not elaborate. Should have said let's form a committee have a meeting and a powerpoint presentataion

Lunch, don't forget lunch!

[Darcula]

33 minutes ago, webfact said:

Some Chinese use Thai nominees to bring Chinese tourists in ... they did not heed warnings ... which is why this incident happened.

 

The watchman must've been asleep.

 

 

 

Edited July 10, 2018 by Darcula

[colinneil]

A boat puts to sea with a captain who is ultimately responsible for the boat and passenger safety.

If the conditions are not safe the captain has the decision whether to go or stay, nobody else.

Typical of authorities here to blame others rather than a Thai, shameful.

[MrJohnson]

This statement will probably not play well in China.

[quadperfect]

6 minutes ago, MrJohnson said:

This statement will probably not play well in China.

That would be wonderfull thinking

[Deli]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

A boat puts to sea with a captain who is ultimately responsible for the boat and passenger safety.

If the conditions are not safe the captain has the decision whether to go or stay, nobody else.

Typical of authorities here to blame others rather than a Thai, shameful.

Basically correct, however, many Chinese run companies put so much pressure on the Thai staff / Captains, i.e. threatening them, to go out, also when the weather is bad.

Too much money involved in the supply chain and nobody wants to refund anything in case of cancellation. With other words: If the Captain refuses to sail, he gets fired.

[AhFarangJa]

Of course it could not possibly be a Thai at fault as they are the epitome of high standards, health and safety and concern for their tourists. Next they will blame the unfortunate victims for boarding the vessel in the first place. 

However, we all know the real truth. Who would be at fault if there was an unfortunate incident on the Krabi to Phi Phi ferry a couple of weeks ago...........Plastic chairs in the Escape routes, and escape doors locked.........answers on a postcard please to ......

[mercman24]

perhaps you did not read my post on the same topic, so i will repeat it, he is not the captain of his ship, this is Thailand get it,western values do no apply, he is just an employee, being told what to do, ok  scenario,,  in your country your boss gives you a task, you refuse, how long do you think it would be before you were out of a job, ? one day i expect, so stop bleating on about *captain of his ship* he isnt, his employers are.

[fxe1200]

I wonder what kind of license the captain owns, where he did his education, or is it just the uniform?

[stevenl]

Prawit again. There were no warnings.

[jaiyen]

3 minutes ago, mercman24 said:

perhaps you did not read my post on the same topic, so i will repeat it, he is not the captain of his ship, this is Thailand get it,western values do no apply, he is just an employee, being told what to do, ok  scenario,,  in your country your boss gives you a task, you refuse, how long do you think it would be before you were out of a job, ? one day i expect, so stop bleating on about *captain of his ship* he isnt, his employers are.

So, if your Boss told you to do something that would endanger your life and 100 other people, would you do it without question ??   No, your not that stupid !!

[Geoffggi]

1 hour ago, Deli said:

Basically correct, however, many Chinese run companies put so much pressure on the Thai staff / Captains, i.e. threatening them, to go out, also when the weather is bad.

Too much money involved in the supply chain and nobody wants to refund anything in case of cancellation. With other words: If the Captain refuses to sail, he gets fired.

In my mind it is better to loose a job than be responsible for the loss of so many lives.... when you take on a position of captain there comes with it RESPONSIBILITY !!!!

[yellowboat]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

He did not elaborate. 

A perk of absolute power.  He does not have to elaborate.

 

2 hours ago, Mango Bob said:

It is the Thai Captain of the Boat that is at fault no one else.   Don't place blame on the Chinese when it was the Thai's at fault. .   The capital of the boat is the person in charge.   Stop blaming others and not yourself.

Too true, when I was skipper, it was my and my alone responsibility, not some Chinese tour guide.  The limit was the limit. 

[Just1Voice]

SO TYPICAL THAI!  Shift the blame, especially if a foreigner is available.  
Did the Chinese guy force the Thai boat captain to take the tourists out?  No, that was the THAI boat captain's decision.  He is the ONLY one to blame - no one else.  Period.

 

[steelepulse]

I certainly didn't expect anything else from the good minister.  Can't blame gov't for not keeping nominee companies in check, so once it's been found it's a Chinese company, heap the blame on them.

 

[300sd]

Our Motto

 

Beautiful Tours                                              at your own risk.

Edited July 10, 2018 by 300sd

[Stargeezr]

Of course some commenters will say Captains fault, captains fault.  They cannot be Captains in Thailand, and

of course think that rules are the same there, as I their home country, when we all know it is not the same. I am just glad that I was not the captains on either ship. The Chinese owners should be shut down as they probably

do pressure their captains to go or be replaced. That is how business is in Asia.

[Tradewind777]

The irony of the name of the vessel “Phoenix” was not lost on me.

[Mickmouse1]

Interesting indeed,let's see the Chinese Government response!!?

[MaxLee]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan blamed Chinese tour operators for not respecting Thai safety legislation.

 He didn't just say that, did he???? 

[Moti24]

Boat Captaincy obviously a job reserved for Thais.  Allow foreigners to be employed in that position, and see how many boats leave the harbour in bad weather.  At least it will stop the usual "Tourist numbers are up" crap, might even save a few lives as well.

 

I'll not hold my breath on that one.

[StefanBBK]

2 hours ago, Deli said:

Basically correct, however, many Chinese run companies put so much pressure on the Thai staff / Captains, i.e. threatening them, to go out, also when the weather is bad.

Too much money involved in the supply chain and nobody wants to refund anything in case of cancellation. With other words: If the Captain refuses to sail, he gets fired.

Of course your assessment is correct, but that does not relief the Captain from his duty to protect the life's entrusted to him. If it is not safe, then no commercial pressure should influence captain's decisions. Just my opinion! 

On that note I think that the Coast Guard, or whoever is responsable here do not apply high enough safety standards for boats and enforce them. We all know that the boats used here are not compliant with international safety standards. And we are all equally guilty, as we at times use these boats and with that condone what is going on. Only if passengers would no longer use these unsafe boats, operators would be forced to upgrade.  Does not matter how romantic, exotic and intriguing these boats may be. 

And don't let me get started on life saving appliances... I know these are expensive, but all boats should carry the Solas compliant devices in sufficient numbers. To drown in a properly done life jacket is nearly impossible in that short time... These should also have lights and whistles... and there should be liferafts that are on hydro-static releases, for 125 % of max passenger load... !

[StefanBBK]

7 minutes ago, Moti24 said:

Boat Captaincy obviously a job reserved for Thais.  Allow foreigners to be employed in that position, and see how many boats leave the harbour in bad weather.  At least it will stop the usual "Tourist numbers are up" crap, might even save a few lives as well.

 

I'll not hold my breath on that one.

And the fares would go up as foreign captains are surely more expensive than their Thai counterparts. I would suggest better training and more stringent qualification requirements. Same by the way for bus and van drivers... 

[hobobo]

3 hours ago, tracker1 said:

As usual their main concerns is a drop in tourism !

"Some Chinese use Thai nominees to bring Chinese tourists in ... they did not heed warnings ... which is why this incident happened. This needs to be remedied," Prawit said.

 

He did not elaborate. Should have said let's form a committee have a meeting and a powerpoint presentataion

Thai's Ministry of Tourism will have to be allocated much bigger budget in the future if they will compensate each and every tourist victim with 1 million baht. Or does this apply to the Chinese tourists only?

[pokerface1]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan blamed Chinese tour operators for not respecting Thai safety legislation

Could the scenario go....Captain refuses to take the boat out so he is sacked. Then the tour operator hires another captain who is as thick as a plank of wood and he says yes no problems. This is the only reason I can think of as to why he blames the tour operator.

Sometime you have to read between the lines for thing to make sense.

The media always leave on the hook wanting more information. 

[Moti24]

3 minutes ago, StefanBBK said:

And the fares would go up as foreign captains are surely more expensive than their Thai counterparts. I would suggest better training and more stringent qualification requirements. Same by the way for bus and van drivers... 

You get what you pay for!  That's painfully obvious in the LOS!

 

Training!  Good idea, but you and I already know it won't happen; the van drivers have been murdering people for a long time.

[newnative]

"He did not elaborate."   I should think not.  Difficult to elaborate  on such a ridiculous statement.