Frenchman faces hefty fines for dropping anchor on protected corals

By Khunanya Wanchanwet

 

The yacht dropped anchor in Patok Bay, on the northwest side of Racha Yai Island. Photo: DMCR

 

PHUKET: A 67-year-old Frenchman is facing serious fines for dropping anchor on protected corals off Koh Racha Yai, south of Phuket.

 

Somnuek Boonyai, Chief of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Region 6 office’s Preservation of Marine Life Section, told The Phuket News that he was notified by a member of Marine Rangers (see here) last Friday (Mar 6) that a yacht named “Cotinga” had dropped anchor anchor in a protected coral area, causing damage to corals.

 

DMCR officers filed a complaint with the Chalong Police and contacted Dream Yacht Charter (Thailand) Co Ltd, which had chartered the yacht out to Jean G., 67, from France.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/frenchman-faces-hefty-fines-for-dropping-anchor-on-protected-corals-75239.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2020-03-12

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6 minutes ago, webfact said:

Dream Yacht Charter (Thailand) Co Ltd, which had chartered the yacht out to Jean G., 67, from France.

Did this company supply maps of prohibited areas where he could not drop anchor and if not they should also receive bigger fines .

30 minutes ago, keith101 said:

Did this company supply maps of prohibited areas where he could not drop anchor and if not they should also receive bigger fines .

The captain of the vessel as the captain of an aircraft is responsible to have all needed documents, maps etc. on hand.

55 minutes ago, Aachen said:

The captain of the vessel as the captain of an aircraft is responsible to have all needed documents, maps etc. on hand.

So your saying that the Charter Co doesn't need to supply any charts for someone renting a yacht and therefore is not responsible for anything that happens .

THAIS see foreigners they got to figure a way to get money from him right TIT

3 hours ago, keith101 said:

Did this company supply maps of prohibited areas where he could not drop anchor and if not they should also receive bigger fines .

Good question,if not how could the chap know,but of course on the other side,if the water was clear,he should have looked and possibly seen corals,murky water,how could he tell? I agree the company should provide all relevant info,but hey this is Thailand.

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

So your saying that the Charter Co doesn't need to supply any charts for someone renting a yacht and therefore is not responsible for anything that happens .

Yes, I concur.

Ship owners don't usually provide sea maps to ship charterers.

Captain's responsibility.

 

They should fine him 20.000 baht and send him on his way.

5 hours ago, Aachen said:

The captain of the vessel as the captain of an aircraft is responsible to have all needed documents, maps etc. on hand.

That is If they are available/exists.

a rotten attempt to theft by police imo

It's one of the laws of the sea that the captain of a vessel makes himself appraised of the waters he sails in ... end of story. That includes marine parks, prohibited military areas, commercial shipping lanes etc etc etc. 

Many good points here, and I'll say yes, the charter company should have provided maps of protected areas, if only for the sake of conservation of natural resources. And yes, the captain should have known better...shouldn't have assumed he was free to go wherever he wanted, although if he is familiar with Thailand, he probably knew that nobody usually gives a <deleted>. And yes, the cops are probably frothing at the opportunity to get their greedy little fingers into this guys wallet and/or bank account.

If you see mooring lines all over the place, it seems quite obvious anchoring is not allowed.

Damn! Had Mr Girard just dropped anchor on top of a helpless lad, he would face a 500 Baht fine and a slap on the hand (providing of course, he confessed).

 

The Thai gov't really needs to look at itself in the mirror. The disparity in fines between damaging property, coral, some facsimile of a Buddhist amulet, or someone's life is completely out of proportion.

 

P.S. As captain of the boat, he is responsible for knowing where he can anchor. Not knowing anything about the captain, maybe a 100K baht fine is chump change for him.

17 hours ago, keith101 said:

So your saying that the Charter Co doesn't need to supply any charts for someone renting a yacht and therefore is not responsible for anything that happens .

It is the responsibility of the master of the vessel to be prepared and to  have the necessary charts or to have functional real time access at all times. Part of the pre-voyage responsibility is to ensure that one has the charts available with which to safely navigate  the waters. he was legally and morally responsible if he had departed without verifying. 

 In any case,  you make the assumption that this man didn't have charts. I offer that it is more likely that he was careless and just didn't care what he was doing. Old men can be  stupid too.

Have to remember that the word "Captain" is awfully loosely thrown around here, not just with the reckless locals. Probably just some rich old geezer playing around at being Ahab.

On 3/12/2020 at 3:48 PM, marko kok prong said:

On 3/12/2020 at 12:27 PM, keith101 said:

Did this company supply maps of prohibited areas where he could not drop anchor and if not they should also receive bigger fines .

Good question,if not how could the chap know

Reading the link would help you answer your own question.

23 hours ago, brokenbone said:

a rotten attempt to theft by police imo

How so?

23 hours ago, Mad Mack said:

the captain should have known better...shouldn't have assumed he was free to go wherever he wanted

There was no prohibition on sailing in that area.

11 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

It is the responsibility of the master of the vessel to be prepared and to  have the necessary charts or to have functional real time access at all times. Part of the pre-voyage responsibility is to ensure that one has the charts available with which to safely navigate  the waters. he was legally and morally responsible if he had departed without verifying. 

 In any case,  you make the assumption that this man didn't have charts. I offer that it is more likely that he was careless and just didn't care what he was doing. Old men can be  stupid too.

The charts would have confirmed that he was permitted to navigate those waters, just as the article confirmed also.