rooster59 20904 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Seven people missing after Koh Samui ferry capsizes Image: Thairath Seven people are missing after a cargo ferry travelling from Koh Samui capsized on Saturday night. The ferry, operated by the Raja Ferry Co, got into difficulty at around 10pm as it headed to Donsak pier. The ferry was carrying a 10 wheel trailer, 3 garbage trucks and two pick up trucks. It wasn’t immediately exactly how many people were on board. Thairath on Sunday said a total of 9 people had been rescued while 7 others were still missing. Officials said a full investigation will be launched into the incident but it is likely the ferry got into difficulty in strong waves. On Friday, Thailand’s Meteorological Department warned of storms and heavy weather nationwide. This is a developing news story. Source: Thairath -- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2020-08-02 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr mr 6278 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 ohh man the timing on this one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilly 2569 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 More info in this thread... https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1175776-samui-ferry-with-garbage-trucks-in-accident/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
petermik 21816 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 I discovered quite some time ago...don`t use Raja to get to Samui. R.I.P. to the deceased Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomer6969 4269 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 R.I.P indeed. But "Business as usual" for Thailand. Prospective Chinese tourists will be interested. And I get to worry that I am taking too many holidays to Koh Chang. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephbloggs 3894 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 A bit more info in the paper that can't be mentioned. It had only made it two miles from Samui when it capsized so not as if the storm snuck up on it. I am on Samui at the moment and the weather and sea are bad. And there have been clear weather warnings and shipping warnings since the 31st July. RIP to the dead, not a nice way to go. And I'm certainly not taking my crossing back until this weather system has passed. The storm is raging right now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThailandRyan 50224 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Why would a ferry run at the time of night, when warnings have been posted for the Monsoon and unsafe sea travel right know. I wonder if one of the dump trucks was not locked in place and moved making the weight distribution unsteady when a swell hit. However, it does not matter, 7 lives are lost and my prayers are with there families. RIP Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightbird 235 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Boomer6969 said: R.I.P indeed. But "Business as usual" for Thailand. Prospective Chinese tourists will be interested. And I get to worry that I am taking too many holidays to Koh Chang. it's not the passenger ferry that tourists usually take. Last time I took the ferry was 1991 and I wouldn't do it again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickymouse1 721 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 2 hours ago, petermik said: I discovered quite some time ago...don`t use Raja to get to Samui. R.I.P. to the deceased I very much doubt normal travellers use cargo ferry for crossing , not to mention the heavy loads!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertson468 2335 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Several years ago I went to meet my Wife who was arriving at Koh Samui on Raj Ferry. The Pier has a horizontal bar supported by two upright bars and I could not believe my eyes that the arriving Ferry (with my Wife on it) was listing about 15 degrees to one side, which was emphasised by the horizontal bar on shore. The seas were absolutely calm. The only solution I can think of for this is that the vehicles had been shipped on in a manner that there was more weight on one side than the other. I decided from then on, we would never travel by Raj again and would take the much better organised and more modern Ferries of Seatran from Nathon. Really scary stuff. My prayers are with those that have been lost in this incident. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sahibji 1569 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 hope the ferry was carrying suitable number of protective equipment like life jackets to give passengers a chance of survival. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephbloggs 3894 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 10 minutes ago, robertson468 said: Several years ago I went to meet my Wife who was arriving at Koh Samui on Raj Ferry. The Pier has a horizontal bar supported by two upright bars and I could not believe my eyes that the arriving Ferry (with my Wife on it) was listing about 15 degrees to one side, which was emphasised by the horizontal bar on shore. The seas were absolutely calm. The only solution I can think of for this is that the vehicles had been shipped on in a manner that there was more weight on one side than the other. I decided from then on, we would never travel by Raj again and would take the much better organised and more modern Ferries of Seatran from Nathon. Really scary stuff. My prayers are with those that have been lost in this incident. I'm here on Samui with my family. I haven't got the ferry to Samui in about 23 years so my friend who lives here told me "book Seatran, don't use Raja". We came over on Seatran last week and it was a professional, well maintained and sea worthy vessel. Lots of life jackets, life rafts etc and it took the scheduled 90 minutes for the crossing. Another friend got a Raja. He sent some pics - absolutely shocking. Rotten walls and a huge gaping hole in the side of the passenger cabin! And it took three hours. The owners should definitely be charged. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFMills 523 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 I’ve done that Crossing in bad weather. It’s true people do actually go green... For the return journey I didn’t have any breakfast, I was really glad I didn’t... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tropicalevo 11089 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 3 minutes ago, sahibji said: hope the ferry was carrying suitable number of protective equipment like life jackets to give passengers a chance of survival. I have not been on a Raja ferry for a while, but I am sure that they do carry lifejackets. Whether the passengers wear them or not is another thing. Looking at some photos on another thread, I cannot see any lifejackets on the people in the water. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardColeman 54267 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 3 hours ago, rooster59 said: Officials said a full investigation will be launched into the incident but it is likely the ferry got into difficulty in strong waves. Or how about the captain of the boat ignored the bad conditions and still went ahead ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro01 5821 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 I came across on the Seatran ferry to Samui last night. Left about 5:59pm and arrived about 7:30. At that point, seas were calm, flat when we left and very small waves by the time we hit Samui. I am amazed things got that bad out there so fast. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedro01 5821 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 9 minutes ago, RichardColeman said: Or how about the captain of the boat ignored the bad conditions and still went ahead ? Not sure he necessarily did based on conditions in Samui at Lipa Noi Pier less than an hour earlier. Quite calm. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scubascuba3 19210 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 The problem i noticed 20 years ago was the ferries will go no matter what, money before safety always. Also 20 years ago a ferry went down in the same area, rough seas, overloaded with concrete, hits a wave, concrete moves and ferry goes straight under, 56 on board Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotchilli 41383 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 3 hours ago, rooster59 said: Seven people missing after Koh Samui ferry capsizes Safe secure trusted Thailand... didn't last very long. R.i.P Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorG 8422 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Overloaded/badly balanced? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidermike007 55001 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Raja has alot of very old boats. Seatran is highly preferable and slightly faster. Wonder how this could have happened. It is the Gulf. Shallow waters. Near the port. An issue wjrh the boat itself? Poorly loaded? Tragic. Hope the missing people are found. Maybe they swam to shore and are unaccounted for? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenBravo 12938 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 1 hour ago, Tropicalevo said: I have not been on a Raja ferry for a while, but I am sure that they do carry lifejackets. Whether the passengers wear them or not is another thing. Looking at some photos on another thread, I cannot see any lifejackets on the people in the water. Never, ever wear a life jacket when you are inside when on a boat. If the boat rolls, or sinks, you will never get out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunkarl 191 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 If they were operating seaworthy ships and used good seamanship this would not have happened. I have worked at sea for 20 years so I would know about it. I used this company's ferry service a couple of times during good weather. At one of the occasions I was shocked by the state of the ship, basically the rust was holding the ship together. Many of their ships should not be allowed to sail and how they pass classification is unbelievable. A couple of years ago one of their ferries caught fire. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PEE TEE 1167 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 I did not know the ferries ran after 7pm. sad news i wonder how good the inspections for safety are on the Raja company? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDfella 2544 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Sad. My condolences to the families. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deli 5687 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 4 hours ago, Boomer6969 said: R.I.P indeed. But "Business as usual" for Thailand. Prospective Chinese tourists will be interested. And I get to worry that I am taking too many holidays to Koh Chang. Some of the Raja boats are old Chinese 2nd / 3rd / 4th hand vessels. The Chinese should feel very much like home on those, though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airbagwill 1742 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Ro-Ro ferries are inherently unsafe... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airbagwill 1742 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 23 minutes ago, PEE TEE said: I did not know the ferries ran after 7pm. sad news i wonder how good the inspections for safety are on the Raja company? I guess this was a special...Samui is still trying to get rid of all the surplus rubbish that previous admins have allowed to accumulate. If they'd dealt with the rubbish properly, this service would never have been needed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airbagwill 1742 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 2 minutes ago, Deli said: Some of the Raja boats are old Chinese 2nd / 3rd / 4th hand vessels. The Chinese should feel very much like home on those, though Age is one thing, but decks without bulkhead are extremely dangerous if water gets in. Imagine several tonnes of water and vehicles sloshing about.....it can overturn a vessel in seconds.. This applies to ALL ferries to the islands of Thailand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raphus 422 Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 Well as an old sailor. The only reason a boat capsizes is due to the following: - The boat did not have ballast tanks to distribute the weight evenly and right the ship/boat in the correct manner. - The boat/ship took on water due to the weather and then started to list, which in rough weather would have caused a continual pendulum motion until it flipped. - The boat’s/ship’s load shifted during rough weather due to it not being lashed down correctly. R.I.P. The mother has claimed more to her misunderstood strength. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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