Phoenix boat disaster funerals begin, mass ceremony held at Chalong

[webfact]

Phoenix boat disaster funerals begin, mass ceremony held at Chalong

The Phuket News

 

The mass prayer at Chalong Pier was held to bring peace to the souls of the departed. Photo: PR Dept

 

PHUKET: Sobs of tears from heartbroken friends and family of victims of the Phoenix tour boat disaster punctuated a mass Buddhist prayer ceremony held at Chalong Pier this morning (July 11).

 

The ceremony, which began at 8am, was held to bring peace to the souls of the departed.

 

Present to lead the ceremony were Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong and Chen Xiongfeng, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Consular Affairs of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Full story https://www.thephuketnews.com/phoenix-boat-disaster-funerals-begin-mass-ceremony-held-at-chalong-67831.php#AVv3YE00r1LZWvBM.99 

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2018-07-11

[webfact]

Buoyancy aids in Phoenix ‘did not measure up to international standards’

By THE NATION 
THE THAIGER

 

 

A BUDDHIST CEREMONY was held yesterday to commemorate the passengers who died in a recent tour-boat tragedy off Phuket, while the search resumed for one person who remained missing.

 

The ceremony took place at the Ao Chalong pier early yesterday morning to boost the morale of grieving relatives who were present, along with locals and Chinese authorities.

 

The navy has deployed divers to the location where the Phoenix capsized on July 4 off Koh He to retrieve a body trapped under the shipwreck. Officials were also conducting patrols to search for the final missing person.

 

 

Phuket Governor Noraphat Plodthong said the death toll was at 45 and 43 bodies had been identified. Forty-two people survived the sinking of the tour boat. Most passengers on the Phoenix were Chinese.

 

Funerals were being organised at local Buddhist temples on the instructions of relatives, the governor said. 

 

According to Phuket’s public-relations office, at the time of sinking the 103 Phoenix passengers numbered 14 crew members and 89 tourists, most of them Chinese. All crew members survived.

 

 

At a press conference yesterday morning, Norraphat said: “We have found 42 survivors, and 45 bodies have been recovered. One body is still stuck inside the Phoenix and unable to be recovered at this stage. So just one [passenger] still remains missing.” The search area has been widened to include Phang Nga, Krabi, Phi Phi Island and Satun province.

 

Meanwhile, the Tourist Police Bureau has revealed that the Phoenix was not “fit for purpose” for operations in the seas off Phuket. As well, the buoyancy aids that were provided to passengers failed to meet the minimum standards required for safety vests.

 

The Serenata, a second boat loaded with tourists, also capsized in the same area in the Andaman Sea off Phuket on July 4 but without fatalities.

 

In the latest zero-dollar tour investigation linked to the two boats that sank last Thursday, tourist police seized 21 non-standard buoyancy aids at an office believed to be the operations centre for boat tours involving the Phoenix.

 

 

Tourist Police Deputy Commander Maj-General Surachate Hakparn said, “Yesterday we went to Tanawat shipyard in Rassada where the Phoenix was built. We have found that a twin boat of the Phoenix, with the same blueprints, is currently being prepared and was constructed here, too. The other boat has already been moved to another area after 70 per cent of its construction has been completed.”

 

“A boat engineer and consultant have analysed the plans for the vessels and determined that the Phoenix’ design has inherent problems.

 

“The design seems to have many flaws. The boat should not take to sea with many passengers. The most important thing is the engine-door design at the lower level of the boat. When seawater got into the boat, the boat engine would be flooded and would stop working.

 

“We have also found that the ‘lifejackets’ do not measure up to international standards. Those ‘life jackets’ were made at a manufacturing company in Lop Buri, 150 kilometres northeast of Bangkok, but the jackets are labelled as made in Nakhon Ratchasima province. We are now working with the Office of the Consumer Protection Board to find out more about these jackets.

 

“We want to tell Thai people who have acted as nominees for foreigners to stop doing this. Relevant officers and I are collecting evidence to take the highest level of legal action against these offenders. I am sure that there are many businesses working as nominees.

 

“After the boat has been recovered, I will return to clear these nominee issues. If any government office is found to be involved with the boats and their ability to be used to take tours in Phuket, legal action will be taken against them.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30349879

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-07-12

[smedly]

I think it's great that the cave rescue was a success but while that was going on and Thai media neglected to report on was the absolute disaster that transpired at the same time, a calamity of massive proportion were almost sixty people were drowned in a so called boating accident

 

accident it was not, it was  more of the same in this country were safety and proper standards are ignored or don't exist

 

Money number one and almost 60 tourists are dead

 

I actually found it quite shocking that no international media reported on this

 

Oh yes the 13 were rescued and that is a great result but while that was going on we had a disaster of mega proportions that cost the lives of many now looking at around 60 tourists

 

yes come here spend your money you will be safe...………….?

RIP 

[davehowden]

" “We want to tell Thai people who have acted as nominees for foreigners to stop doing this."

 

I can see where this is going !!

[Darcula]

Okay, how many nominees vs foreigners on the company building the boat, or the one producing the lifejackets?

[happy chappie]

What's more important than chasing nominees,cash and properties is for officials to go and inspect every single tour boat and make sure they have internationally rated life vests.i bet the ones on most if not all are about as useless as a Thai crash helmet.

[stevenl]

2 minutes ago, happy chappie said:

What's more important than chasing nominees,cash and properties is for officials to go and inspect every single tour boat and make sure they have internationally rated life vests.i bet the ones on most if not all are about as useless as a Thai crash helmet.

All diveboats were inspected yesterday.

 

You'd lose your bet btw, I know quite a few with proper life jackets.

Edited July 12, 2018 by stevenl

[happy chappie]

5 minutes ago, stevenl said:

All diveboats were inspected yesterday.

 

You'd lose your bet btw, I know quite a few with proper life jackets.

Well I'm glad to here that for anyone who ventures on a boat in Thailand.so this factory that produces fake or sub standard life vests only supplied this single boat?

[happy chappie]

10 minutes ago, stevenl said:

All diveboats were inspected yesterday.

 

You'd lose your bet btw, I know quite a few with proper life jackets.

Also I was talking about tour boats,not just dive boats.anything that goes out to sea should have proper rated vests.you know a few that have them and are the vests on the other boats caught out that day using proper vests.i would say it would be very unlucky if the boat that sunk was the only one with fake vests.do you know of any boats that have been inspected and told to replace the vests or is it just business as usual?

[stevenl]

47 minutes ago, happy chappie said:

Also I was talking about tour boats,not just dive boats.anything that goes out to sea should have proper rated vests.you know a few that have them and are the vests on the other boats caught out that day using proper vests.i would say it would be very unlucky if the boat that sunk was the only one with fake vests.do you know of any boats that have been inspected and told to replace the vests or is it just business as usual?

Yes, boats with improper vests have been told to replace. Will they do and will it be enforced? See my earlier comment about life jackets.

[CLW]

Someone must or should have checked this before before issue a licence for operation.

"The most important thing is the engine-door design at the lower level of the boat. When seawater got into the boat, the boat engine would be flooded and would stop working."

[stevenl]

4 minutes ago, CLW said:

Someone must or should have checked this before before issue a licence for operation.

"The most important thing is the engine-door design at the lower level of the boat. When seawater got into the boat, the boat engine would be flooded and would stop working."

Not applicable to phoenix, she had a different design, see photos.

The comments 'twin boats are not true, at least in this respect.

 

Agree with the principle though, design should be checked, and after that boat construction should be checked.

Edited July 12, 2018 by stevenl

[happy chappie]

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

Yes, boats with improper vests have been told to replace. Will they do and will it be enforced? See my earlier comment about life jackets.

So they've been told.thats sorted the problem out then.how about suspending their certificate of sea worthiness until they replace the jackets and have the safety of the boat inspected.