23 Chinese rescued from capsized speedboat off Samet

[roo860]

14 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Because they can?

But really, I don't know what the correct response is any more - criticise, laugh, be concerned, ignore the news item as it's becoming as regular as traffic deaths.

 

The country that's number one in the world for traffic deaths. Coming soon - the country that's number one for drowning Chinese tourists.

I suppose to quote Prawit - 'at least no Thais died.'

Just laugh, it's the best medicine!

[roo860]

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Likely to be a 'no' then.... 

 

But, why oh why do they always investigate after the fact...  So lazy... The Police never check any of the licenses before an accident happens?

 

That said, the license of a boat or its pilot is just a piece of paper quite irrelevant if a vessel isn't sea-worthy... Valid checks should be carried out on the sea-worthiness of the vessel.. but who am I kidding... the apathy regarding any regulation just comes at you from every angle in Thailand... 

 

But... it could easily have been a perfectly sea-worthy vessel and licensed vessel being piloted by a licensed pilot, yet it could still hit a submerged object....  Was the Pilot in the correct 'sea lane'... 

 

It could simply be an unfortunate accident - luckily it would seem no one was seriously injured. 

 

As a regular Samet Visitor - I always take the 'slow boat' which takes about 30-40min instead of a 15min speed boat.

 

 

 

They can't keep in the correct 'car lane' so no chance keeping in the 'sea lane.'

[Morch]

13 hours ago, bluesofa said:

And on the third day, he rose again from the dead depths.

 

Who knew JC was a Game of Thrones Ironborn....

[Jimdandy]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

safely rescued

In other words, we're still screwing up but at least you'll live. Not like last time a boat capsized so don't stop those tourist dollars from coming in...

[toofarnorth]

1 hour ago, bluesofa said:

I think you've nailed it. Neither group appears to have an understanding of safety or any interest in implementing it.

 

Having said that, the Titanic only had enough lifeboats for a third of the people on board, so perhaps we can't criticise too much?

That could be the answer , did the boat driver hit an under water iceberg ( not the lettuce ) , the iceberg has now melted .  SORTED !

[jsgatse]

Is it just me, or do 98% of truck, car, or boat crashes result in the driver "running away".  <deleted> is up with that?  Virtually everywhere else in the world fleeing the scene of an accident where there are injuries/damage is a serious crime.  But, here, it seems you can claim you were "scared" and later wai and, hey, no problem :-(

The government says they want to crack down on reckless drivers and dangerous conditions - well, harshly punishing those that flee the scene of accidents would help to send the right message.

[bluesofa]

14 minutes ago, toofarnorth said:

That could be the answer , did the boat driver hit an under water iceberg ( not the lettuce ) , the iceberg has now melted .  SORTED !

Perhaps he was trying to 'hedge' his bets.

[Micjlac]

21 in a boat like that is fine, not overloaded at all, I was just on several. I suspect a short cut out of the sea lane is the likely culprit.

[Vacuum]

1 hour ago, NextStationBangkok said:

Just before the boat capsized, there was BBQ Shrimp buffet was offered to the guests!

...served on the starboard side only.

[SunsetT]

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

There should be a law that these subversive, submerged reefs are all marked with red flags or similar.

How's a "Pilot" supposed to avoid them if they can't be seen when travelling at 30 knots?

Probably close to shore landing at a Samet beach. Locals would be aware of them, should be aware of them. Maybe the pilot was a new kid on the block or drunk/stoned celebrating the Chinese New Year.

 

Being close to shore probably enabled the pilot to swim and/or wade ashore.

 

I have done this trip. Life jackets are available but it is up to you whether or not you wear them. The crew were offhand and not friendly and reluctant to help with baggage and minimal help getting on and off the boat even with children. They beach stern first on Samet beaches with the stern bucking up and down while people are getting off if there is surf, which there often is. There was nothing systematic or organised about this. It was just a free for all with every man for himself where anyone could end up falling under an outboard motor or the stern and getting seriously hurt. Watching this daily entertaining show from my Ao Pai beach sunlounger a few days later I saw a young woman backpacker fall of the stern as the speedboat beached. Luckily she fell off to one side and was unhurt. If you want a risk free disembarkation I would recommend taking a speedboat to a pier.

[Jimdandy]

39 minutes ago, jsgatse said:

Is it just me, or do 98% of truck, car, or boat crashes result in the driver "running away".  <deleted> is up with that?  Virtually everywhere else in the world fleeing the scene of an accident where there are injuries/damage is a serious crime.  But, here, it seems you can claim you were "scared" and later wai and, hey, no problem ????

The government says they want to crack down on reckless drivers and dangerous conditions - well, harshly punishing those that flee the scene of accidents would help to send the right message.

It's more like 99.9%

[JimP]

The pilot ran away.  How so incredibly Thai of him. 555

[Old Croc]

 

5 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

1 hour ago, Old Croc said:

There should be a law that these subversive, submerged reefs are all marked with red flags or similar.

How's a "Pilot" supposed to avoid them if they can't be seen when travelling at 30 knots?

Probably close to shore landing at a Samet beach. Locals would be aware of them, should be aware of them. Maybe the pilot was a new kid on the block or drunk/stoned celebrating the Chinese New Year.

My post was heavily tinged with sarcasm.

As someone who's spent half a lifetime owning, and "piloting" small boats in dangerous waters, I've never hit a reef hard enough to rupture the hull.

I have bumped and scraped against a few when negotiating tight passages, but never run into one I didn't notice.

My real point is that these cowboys are entrusted with the lives of multiple passengers, but seemingly have a complete lack of training and commonsense. 

[shaurene]

Ha, Ha. It is so comicable, it is unbelievable. Pilot ran away. Wow, a water trotter. Young inexperienced pilots, get them there and get back ASAP. on a strait line course. 

[SunsetT]

5 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

these cowboys are entrusted with the lives of multiple passengers, but seemingly have a complete lack of training and commonsense

.......and lack of CARE.

[spidermike007]

The captains of these ships should know the local water enough to be able to avoid a submerged reef. This is kids stuff. Absolutely no reason for this accident, other than recklessness, or overloading of this boat, which sounds like might be the case, with 23 tourists on a small boat. Another example of profit over safety. And what does this hapless administration do about it? What have they been doing to prevent more boating disasters? What are they doing to address public and traffic safety? Next to nothing. These deaths and injuries that continue to occur, are entirely on the shoulders of Prayuth, and the army. Just one more nail in the coffin of Thai tourism, and especially Chinese tourism. News like this spreads like wildfire in China, where the people already consider Thailand to be an unsafe destination, for countless reasons. 

 

They need to be run out of town. Get out. Get out now. Prayuth and the army are not wanted, they are not needed, they are not liked, and they are not competent. Get out now. You are despised by nearly all of us ex-pats, and most of Thailand. Your time if over. You are so far past the expiration date, that the time has come, for you to be replaced, and hopefully, for you to never be seen again in public. 

[Chrisswe]

As I said "SAFETY FIRST IS ONLY A WORD WITHOUT ANY MEANING IN THIS COUNTRY. IT'S ONLY A QUESTION OF BHT BHT BHT.......!!!!! 

[Mooner]

Most of the drivers are kids under 30 and with little to no training. 

They just know how a boat works

[hotchilli]

Just when they were promised it was safe to go back in the water... what does Thailand do?

Invite them over for Chinese New Year and try to drown more of them....

Thailand really has got to try harder to get it right, which actually means doing something constructive!

[Jimdandy]

11 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

The captains of these ships should know the local water enough to be able to avoid a submerged reef. This is kids stuff. Absolutely no reason for this accident, other than recklessness, or overloading of this boat, which sounds like might be the case, with 23 tourists on a small boat. Another example of profit over safety. And what does this hapless administration do about it? What have they been doing to prevent more boating disasters? What are they doing to address public and traffic safety? Next to nothing. These deaths and injuries that continue to occur, are entirely on the shoulders of Prayuth, and the army. Just one more nail in the coffin of Thai tourism, and especially Chinese tourism. News like this spreads like wildfire in China, where the people already consider Thailand to be an unsafe destination, for countless reasons. 

 

They need to be run out of town. Get out. Get out now. Prayuth and the army are not wanted, they are not needed, they are not liked, and they are not competent. Get out now. You are despised by nearly all of us ex-pats, and most of Thailand. Your time if over. You are so far past the expiration date, that the time has come, for you to be replaced, and hopefully, for you to never be seen again in public. 

I would add the captains should learn to say safety briefings in Mandarin and English and then slow down, but the enforcement has to start at the top, and if they're busy now focusing on winning an upcoming election it's not going to happen.

[orchidfan]

16 hours ago, darksidedog said:

If he ran away across the water, his name is probably Jesus.

Cops can "find him" at most churches on Sundays.

And since when does a speedboat driver earn the title of "pilot"??

[laocowboy2]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

23 Chinese tourists safely rescued after speed boat hits submerged reef and sinks off Koh Samet

 

 

Twenty-one Chinese tourists escaped unhurt but two suffered inhaling sea water after a speed boat in which they were travelling hit a submerged reef and sank in the sea near Koh Samet off the coast of Thailand’s eastern province of Rayong.

 

Rayong provincial police said the Chinese tourist group, which included some children, spent Wednesday night at a resort on the island and today they were taken for a trip around the island on board a speed boat.

 

When the boat hit the rocks, the boat driver, identified as Mr. Natthawut Poengkuson, told the tourists to put on their life vests before the vessel capsized.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/23-chinese-tourists-safely-rescued-after-speed-boat-hits-submerged-reef-and-sinks-off-koh-samet/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2019-02-08

He tells them to put on their life jackets AFTER they hit the rocks! First thing I do on getting on a boat is to put on the LJ.

[Lucky mike]

No licence ? Maybe more compensation?

[Pattaya28]

How could the speedboat hit an object on the sea-bed ? 

Surely the pilot would have "swam-away" and not "run-away". 

Another hilarious report.

[yogavnture]

the pilot>  or should it be captain?  ran away???????? how did he do that?/

[RichardColeman]

If the guy ran away from a capsized boat, expect a whole host of Christians to decend on this place in the coming weeks !

[natway09]

Somewhere out there there are over 1500 sea containers floating just below the surface.

There have been some horrific accidents caused by them, google it

[scorecard]

So I guess the national officials responsible for sea matters:

 

• - Forgot to tell all regional / local offices about the new rules and regulations and procedures.

• - Failed totally in any attempt to make national overall improvements.

• - Didn't oversee and monitor new rules, regulations and procedures.

 

IMHO ultimately the gross failure, the dereliction goes right back to the very top.

 

Further, IMHO all past Thai governments, PMs, ministers, permanent heads, local senior and junior officials, and operators etc etc., should hang their heads in total shame for not fixing this matter decades ago.

 

Why didn't they act decades ago? We all know the key answers to that but just one item, whilst ministers, head of ministries and down, and local officials are selected / appointed through nepotism and cronyism nothing will change, nothing will improve.

 

The day will come, not tomorrow, when large numbers of Thais will start to get angry and vocal and demand change when they see the massive gap in development and the gap in quality of life of the masses compared to its' neighboring countries.

 

IMHO until this happens nothing will improve in the LOS. 

 

 

[NightSky]

I used to like Koh Samed years ago and it was a place I fell in love with when I first arrived many years ago when the little wooden huts were a few hundred baht to stay and a weekend there was like a weekend on a deserted paradise island out in the middle of the ocean..

 

..it seems that will have changed by now, commercialized, thousands of tourists crammed into little boats..

 

..Im glad I got to experience it when I did  before the crowd. Find somewhere else for future, shame as it truly was a tiny jewel.

[mauGR1]

24 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

If the guy ran away from a capsized boat, expect a whole host of Christians to decend on this place in the coming weeks !

Who said that he run away ? The report says the driver and the owner were summoned by the police.