20 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Just found this gem......Thailand Marine Licencing regulation.

The part of the Thai skipper, which may have actually been the Thai deckhand is interesting. But in reality, the charter company is probably in the wrong for leasing to unlicenced hirers. Maybe the Brit took the fall.

Q: Is it necessary to have a license to use a private Thai registered Boat or Yacht in Thailand.

A: Yes, although this is probably one of the most widely ignored regulation of all, along with the requirement to wear a helmet on a motor cycle. Many boat owners employ a  full or part time Thai Skipper to stay within the law.

Was the yacht actually registered in Thailand?

I know that in my home state in the US a license is required to operate a vessel with, if I recall correctly, greater than three horsepower engine for any purpose.
I was chatting with a fellow in Kodiak, Alaska, who had a converted navy motor whaleboat with a pair of sweeps in lieu of the original four cylinder engine to work around just such regulations. I was greatly interested as the owner of a similar vessel. (I kept the motor in mine. ????)
If the skipper in this case was operating the boat for hire, then he really compounded the offense. It was not completely clear to me from the article.

On 11/7/2018 at 9:37 AM, HAKAPALITA said:

Must have been a hell of a wack. Normally it just fries the Electronics. Then the extinguishers kick in. No recent marine survey i expect.

Wondering if the strike is just a story to cover for some other, obviously negligent cause of the fire?

On 11/6/2018 at 3:02 PM, car720 said:

and it will blow the poor bugger's insurance claim out of the water as well.

Maybe not:
“All tourists on the boat were safe, and insurance took care of all nine tourists to check in at the JW Marriott Maikhao,” 
At least some insurance is at play.