Video: Sattahip to Songkhla ferry start imminent - cabins available on 200 million baht second hand boat from Japan

[webfact]

Video: Sattahip to Songkhla ferry start imminent - cabins available on 200 million baht second hand boat from Japan

 

video screenshot

 

Thai media Daily News online reported that the start of the Sattahip to Songkhla ferry - previously reported by Thaivisa - would begin in February.

 

The service - that takes 20 hours and will go one way each day - was featured in a video published on their site.

 

In this they announced that Seahorse Ferry Co Ltd had purchased a second hand ferry from Hokkaido, Japan called "The Blue Dolphin". 

 

It cost 200 million baht.

 

It's communal areas and cabins looked of a good standard in the promotional video. 

 

An executive of the company said that fare structures had yet to be decided - but this was back in January so news of that may be forthcoming soon as the service was mooted to begin at the latest this month.

 

There will be room for 80 trucks and 20 cars.

 

It will be able to carry 586 passengers. 

 

It has been hailed as a boon for the transport of cargo with the cutting of road transport time and even for the promotion of tourism.

 

Source: Daily News

 

 

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[Dagfinnur Traustason]

Pattaya - Hua Hin against Sattahip - Songkhla     0 - 1

[RichardColeman]

18 minutes ago, webfact said:

It will be able to carry 586 passengers. 

586 people in a boat for 20 hours in a pandemic - what could possibly go wrong

[gearbox]

Good news...I hope it stops at Samui too. Would be able to load a kayak or bicycle easily to move them north east.

[keith101]

Driving Distance: 1159.7 km , Estimated Duration: 13 hours 20 minutes if average speed speed is 87km/hr.
So just over 13 hrs by car as against 20 hrs by sea i know i would car and not by sea , i dont get sea sick its just 7 hrs faster by car .

[bluesofa]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Thai media Daily News online reported that the start of the Sattahip to Songkhla ferry - previously reported by Thaivisa - would begin in February

When will it arrive in Songkhla - around August?

[treetops]

It's not going to Songkhla initially but Prachuap, according to a seemingly informed source on another thread.

[spiekerjozef]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

In this they announced that Seahorse Ferry Co Ltd had purchased a second hand ferry from Hokkaido, Japan called "The Blue Dolphin". 

A whaling ship called the blue dolphin.

[petermik]

Will it last as long as the Hua Hin/Pattaya ferry I wonder

[Skallywag]

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

Driving Distance: 1159.7 km , Estimated Duration: 13 hours 20 minutes if average speed speed is 87km/hr.
So just over 13 hrs by car as against 20 hrs by sea i know i would car and not by sea , i dont get sea sick its just 7 hrs faster by car .

Speed kills, way less likely to get hit by a truck while cruising on water. ????????   Also much more environmentally friendly and relaxing 

[lopburi3]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

It cost 200 million baht.

And was used for the short 4 hour crossing between Honshu and Hokkaido. 

[Bell1234]

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

Driving Distance: 1159.7 km , Estimated Duration: 13 hours 20 minutes if average speed speed is 87km/hr.
So just over 13 hrs by car as against 20 hrs by sea i know i would car and not by sea , i dont get sea sick its just 7 hrs faster by car .

13 hours driving a car plus stop offs so make it nearly 15 hours.. A boat you can relax on and go to sleep a car you can't.. The boat wins everytime.

[Disparate Dan]

see

If it took just 80 HGVs off the entire stretch of road 3 times a week, it would contribute something to safety and the environment.

But will Thai companies become organised enough to employ drivers at both ends - because no-one is going to pay a driver to sit on a ship for 20 hours....

 

[bluesofa]

6 minutes ago, Disparate Dan said:

If it took just 80 HGVs off the entire stretch of road 3 times a week, it would contribute something to safety and the environment.

But will Thai companies become organised enough to employ drivers at both ends - because no-one is going to pay a driver to sit on a ship for 20 hours....

I wouldn't be surprised if some transport company forced the driver to count it as one of his days off.

[steve187]

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

Driving Distance: 1159.7 km , Estimated Duration: 13 hours 20 minutes if average speed speed is 87km/hr.
So just over 13 hrs by car as against 20 hrs by sea i know i would car and not by sea , i dont get sea sick its just 7 hrs faster by car .

maybe faster depending on road works and traffic, but not as safe, more relaxing on a boat than cooped up in a car

[Khun Paul]

With the local adherence to maintenance then in 12 months be a wreck if not sunk 

 

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Speed kills, way less likely to get hit by a truck while cruising on water. ????????   Also much more environmentally friendly and relaxing 

But drowning not a pleasant way to go!

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

586 people in a boat for 20 hours in a pandemic - what could possibly go wrong

Add sea sickness into the mix....

[Justgrazing]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Seahorse Ferry Co Ltd had purchased a second hand ferry from Hokkaido, Japan called "The Blue Dolphin

 

Seahorse said the fastest it'll go is a scallop ..

and they could rename it the

" Blue Dolphin Roundabout " in honour of Patt's .. 

[sanuk711]

"second hand boat from Japan"

 

Its a ship--not a boat.................

[tinca tinca]

5 hours ago, petermik said:

Will it last as long as the Hua Hin/Pattaya ferry I wonder

or the sattahip to koh chang ferry......which never got off the ground???!!!!

[wpcoe]

What is the projected demand for this service?  The OP says it "will go one way each day" -- does that mean service each direction every other day?  If so, an average of 2,000 passengers per week each direction seems like a lot of capacity.

 

Or, is the real breadwinner here cargo capacity and not passenger/vehicle capacity?

[thaibeachlovers]

Might be successful if they have "massage" girls to while away the time.

[Rimmer]

Off topic post from the usual suspect removed

[xylophone]

14 hours ago, tinca tinca said:

or the sattahip to koh chang ferry......which never got off the ground???!!!!

Wasn't supposed to fly, was it?

[tingtong]

On 2/17/2021 at 2:22 PM, Bell1234 said:

13 hours driving a car plus stop offs so make it nearly 15 hours.. A boat you can relax on and go to sleep a car you can't.. The boat wins everytime.

 

The statistics here disagree with you:

For fact many do go to sleep while driving, and often forever.

 

To add:

I regularly drive Jomtien-Chaiyaphum, keeping to speed limit mostly, factoring traffic, 87km/h is an impossible dream.

The reality is closer to 60 km/h, and not because long stops.

 

A well priced ferry make sense for sure.

 

[tinca tinca]

8 hours ago, xylophone said:

Wasn't supposed to fly, was it?

clever EHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

[tinca tinca]

7 minutes ago, tinca tinca said:

clever EHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

i love smart **sses

[Kerryd]

5 hours ago, tingtong said:

To add:

I regularly drive Jomtien-Chaiyaphum, keeping to speed limit mostly, factoring traffic, 87km/h is an impossible dream.

The reality is closer to 60 km/h, and not because long stops.

Yeah, you can never maintain the posted speed limit over the duration of a trip. Just today I rode back from Surin. Zipping down the highway, light traffic and great conditions. After 20 minutes I should have gone 40 kms (do the math  ) but had only gone 25. Two red lights was all it took to knock 15 kms off the distance I should have gone in that time.

When I go to Sa Kaeo, Google tells me it's about 275 kms and will take about 4 hours, 10 minutes. Averaging 90 kms/hr, it should only take 3 hours. On a good day I can do it in 3 1/2.

I usually calculate an extra 15 minutes per hour to my estimates to account for traffic lights, traffic, construction, pit stops (gas/toilet/food).

Google shows Pattaya to Songkla (where the ferry will dock) as almost bang on 1,100 kms and estimate it would take 15 1/2 hours of driving (using toll roads). 
That's 15 1/2 straight hours of driving at the posted speed limit with no breaks and no delays along the way.

I would add 5 hours to that estimate personally, to account for the stops and slow downs along the way. Assuming you'd actually try doing it in a straight run.

I'm checking with friends to see if there's any interest in taking a one way trip to Songkla and then spending a couple 3-4 days to ride back to Pattaya. Way better than riding all the way there just to turn around and ride all the way back.

Still curious to see what the pricing will be (for vehicles and passengers).

First thing they should do is get a "native English speaker" to go over their website and fix little errors like the "Seahorse Ferries Chonburi Brunch." (which is supposed to be "Branch", like the "Seahorse Ferries Songkhla Brunch" and "Seahorse Ferries Prachuap Khiri Khan Brunch"

Looking at their website does not inspire confidence. Still can't book or see prices online. "News and Promotions" is blank. When you click "view details" on any page it takes you to the booking page - where you can't book anything.
Nor have they posted any kind of proposed schedule or timings or map of where to go to get onto the ferry.

You know, the kind of stuff one might expect to find for a service that is supposed to be up and running this month, which is 10 days from being over.

[BostonRob2]

On 2/17/2021 at 1:58 PM, treetops said:

It's not going to Songkhla initially but Prachuap, according to a seemingly informed source on another thread.

It's going to Songkhla.