Picture: Daily News

Plans for a car, truck and passenger ferry between Sattahip in Chonburi and Songkhla in the far south of Thailand are a step closer to reality.

And in the second stage of the plan the ferry will drop into Prachuap Khiri Khan on its way to and from the south.

Sea Horse Ferry Co Ltd are behind the move and will use a 7,003 ton, 136.60 meter long vessel called The Blue Dolphin, reported Daily News.

It will have the ability to ply the Gulf at a speed of 17 knots - that's 31.48 kmph.

The vessel has been certified as safe as of last week and all crew have been trained.

Final port procedures at Sattahip are being checked but those are expected to be finished this month.

A "Meet The Press" PR event will be held next month ahead of the official opening of the service.

Following a "Zoom" meeting to check on developments yesterday Thailand's transport minister Saksayam Chidchob said that the first stage will be Chonburi to Songkhla with the drop in at Prachuap added later. 

The minister said that appropriate pricing for cars and trucks is being decided.

In addition the infrastructure of road connections around the ports is being examined.

Previous reports suggested that the service would start in April at the latest though Daily News stopped short of reporting any official start date. 

 

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10 minutes ago, webfact said:

The vessel has been certified as safe as of last week and all crew have been trained.

Radical stuff.

Another poised-to-fail business idea. Any form of long distance water transport which co-exists with high-speed roads along the same or similar route just isn't financially viable, and on this route insufficient demand to support it. Sure go ahead throw away millions on it, just make sure to invest in a whole bunch of quality life jackets including XL-XS sizes. 

35 minutes ago, Captain_Bob said:

Another poised-to-fail business idea. Any form of long distance water transport which co-exists with high-speed roads along the same or similar route just isn't financially viable, and on this route insufficient demand to support it. Sure go ahead throw away millions on it, just make sure to invest in a whole bunch of quality life jackets including XL-XS sizes. 

Absolutely.

How is the Pattaya - Hua Hin ferry doing these days ?

I support any alternatives to the clogged, slow, treacherous highways here. More public transportation options are needed. I would take this ferry, to avoid what is a truly horrific drive. An overnight trip on a ship with a private stateroom. Sounds delightful and progressive to me. 

1 hour ago, Surelynot said:

Radical stuff.

I hope there's a senior crew member (on every trip), knowledgeable, trained and experienced in terms checking weights of cars and trucks etc., and loading the vessel so that it's properly balanced.

Plus this officer having the authority to demand changes in loading and/or deny approval to depart port until changes are made, and his denial when/if it happens cannot be overridden by the vessel captain and/or the owner.

Plus the various authorities will conduct very regular checks on all of the above and more in regard to safety of all. Their checks should be planned and random without warning.

 

 

Hard to believe that they haven't even worked out what the fares should be yet or inspected  "the infrastructure of road connections around the ports" especially for a service that was supposed to have been up and running weeks ago.

And now it seems they are going to Songkla again, but adding Prachuap Khiri Khan as well. Which would mean the previously scheduled 20 hour trip will probably be 24 hours (or more).

more negative than positive replies up to now, i think its a good idea and should get used quite a bit maybe trucks and tourists alike, compere 18 hours in a bedroom to 12 + hours driving along that boring, dangerous road 600km against 1000km by road, but i think the fares need to be right. will also be good when PPK is added later.

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

I hope there's a senior crew member (on every trip), knowledgeable, trained and experienced in terms checking weights of cars and trucks etc., and loading the vessel so that it's properly balanced.

They said if it sinks they will know that they put too many cars and too much weight on it. So no problem. 

12 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

They said if it sinks they will know that they put too many cars and too much weight on it. So no problem. 

so no plimsol line

1 hour ago, Thomas J said:

They said if it sinks they will know that they put too many cars and too much weight on it. So no problem. 

Sure, very logical.

4 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

Absolutely.

How is the Pattaya - Hua Hin ferry doing these days ?

hope it sunk..

5 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

Absolutely.

How is the Pattaya - Hua Hin ferry doing these days ?

Missing, believed sunk with all hands....????

Of course there are going to be negative comments. People have been around long enough (some of them) to have seen all manner of "pie in the sky" projects get proposed, then abandoned, usually just after a flurry of "Everything is going just great and there's no reason to worry" messages from all corners.

Now this one comes along. A Sattahip-Songkla car/passenger ferry that would avoid that long road trip. A ferry that would have a nice galley (dining facility), cabins that could be rented and would (presumably) be in decent shape.

Oh, except suddenly it won't be sailing on time. (Last Oct is was reported that they were supposed to be doing test runs in November. In Feb it was reported that they'd be starting later in the month. Then it was starting in March. Now it's "next month".)

Oh, and then it was that the ferry wouldn't be going to Songkla but a much shorter trip to Prachuap Khiri Khan instead. (Originally it was Sattahip-Prachuap-Songkla, then Sattahip-Songkla, then Sattahip-Prachuap and now it's Sattahip-Songkla with Prachuap maybe added later. Maybe.)

Oh and just ignore the website and non-functioning booking system and lack of updates on the website and Facebook pages.

Oh and then it was it would only be carrying commercial truck traffic. Now it seems it's back to cars/trucks and passengers. Or not.

Oh and now it seems they haven't even inspected the roads/infrastructure around where the ferry is supposed to be loading/offloading dozens of "big trucks" every other day.
Not to mention that they haven't even figured out what to charge vehicles.

Note that the Sattahip Ferry Terminal is located on the same pier as Thailand's famous aircraft carrier (and other warships). Seems they are all marked as "tourist attractions" now.

From a Pattaya News article on 28 October:



Google maps satellite view. Note street view shows construction work going on where the pin is, which is supposed to be where the Ferry Terminal now is. Highway 3126 leads to the #3 and 331 (or the #7). They've done a lot of work on the road from the Dockyard to the #3 intersection (which is still a major mess that won't be finished for a long time by the looks of it).



So yeah, for a service that was supposed to be already up and running and yet seems to be delayed again and again, with no start date other than "next month" and apparently lots that still needs to be done (like figuring out how much to charge !!), one shouldn't be surprised if there are a few negative comments.

After all, This is Thailand ! What could go wrong ?

 A ferry costing 200m Baht has been sat at anchor in Laem Chabang since 9 Jan 2021. They have not prepared anything as far as I can see. @Hammerman  seems connected to this venture but no post for 2 weeks. Are you telling me that  the prices were not worked out before this.  No update on there website. 

It seems they did not check - can they land at PRK.? Will the fishermen complain at Songkhla

16 hours ago, steve187 said:

more negative than positive replies up to now, i think its a good idea and should get used quite a bit maybe trucks and tourists alike, compere 18 hours in a bedroom to 12 + hours driving along that boring, dangerous road 600km against 1000km by road, but i think the fares need to be right. will also be good when PPK is added later.

As for the trucks it's all dependent on the ferry fare versus the road fuel costs....

12 hours or so via a road is favourable because of the 24 hour round trip ability.

If it ain't cheap they will not use it.

21 hours ago, Surelynot said:

Radical stuff.

False News -  ('The vessel has been certified as safe as of last week and all crew have been trained.') this only happens AFTER the first tragic disaster.

2 hours ago, hotchilli said:

12 hours or so via a road is favourable because of the 24 hour round trip ability.

no rest break then, could the truck go unmanned, or even without a cab unit

 

Get on a ferry in South East Asia going that far ? Russian roulette

13 minutes ago, steve187 said:

no rest break then, could the truck go unmanned, or even without a cab unit

 

You're right no rest break, 2 drivers, no taco... keep going taking turns behind the wheel, 12 hours each-way.
The ship is estimated to take between 18-24 hours one way won't cut it for commercial trucks.

They make money by making deliveries, not parked on a ship.

22 hours ago, Captain_Bob said:

Another poised-to-fail business idea. Any form of long distance water transport which co-exists with high-speed roads along the same or similar route just isn't financially viable, and on this route insufficient demand to support it. Sure go ahead throw away millions on it, just make sure to invest in a whole bunch of quality life jackets including XL-XS sizes. 

Of course a certainty. No industry in the area that may be interested in unmanned freight going to the south of Thailand.

To some, viability can only come from falangs.

21 hours ago, Chelseafan said:

Absolutely.

How is the Pattaya - Hua Hin ferry doing these days ?

They made 3 fundamental mistakes, overpriced, HH pier too far out in the sticks, and relying on falangs.

Remind me, how long does it take a lorry to get from Sattahip to Songkhla?

15 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

You're right no rest break, 2 drivers, no taco... keep going taking turns behind the wheel, 12 hours each-way.

Fantasyland. 

Google maps shows 14 hours 45 minutes by car from Rayong to Songkhla but you think they are lying and a lorry can do it in 12 hours.

As noted in previous posts, cost will be a consideration.
Consider fuel, tolls and wages (assuming the driver sleeps in the truck and eats 40 baht meals at truck stops along the way) as well as time if one were to drive the route.

Google thinks a car can do the 1,120 km trip in just over 14.5 hours. 
A CAR.

Not a loaded transport truck that can't go as fast as a car and slows to a near crawl when it gets near to anything resembling a grade (up or down). It would be supremely optimistic to think a big truck, even with 2 drivers making minimal food/fuel/toilet breaks could make the same trip anywhere near that quickly. Probably have to add 2-4 hours minimum on to the estimate, depending on traffic (and weather).

However, if the fare to make the trip by ferry was significantly higher than the cost to go by road, then one could assume that most shipping companies would go by road. Especially if the driving time works out to about the same as the sailing time. 



Depending (again) on what they plan on charging (which it seems they still haven't figured out despite someone saying they were starting next week) I'd say that they may get a lot more car/foot traffic than commercial (big truck) traffic, especially considering they can haul a lot more cars/scooters/people than they can big trucks.
But it would take a while to get a decent volume. However, as the Eastern Economic Corridor expands and the demand for more labourers in the Industrial Estate grows, they could see a large growth in passenger traffic. Probably a shorter, nicer trip to make compared to riding a public bus all the way.

(I wonder how long that would take ?)

But (I've said it before) "This is Thailand' and if the standard business practise holds true and they don't get a lot of traffic early on, they will probably resort to the tried and true method of jacking up the prices higher and higher until no one wants to sail with them at all !

Because that works so well for every other place that has tried it, right ? ????????????

 

3 hours ago, Kerryd said:

But (I've said it before) "This is Thailand' and if the standard business practise holds true and they don't get a lot of traffic early on, they will probably resort to the tried and true method of jacking up the prices higher and higher until no one wants to sail with them at all !

Because that works so well for every other place that has tried it, right ? ????????????

 

" until no one wants to sail with them"

Why should it be about people? there is a bigger picture to consider before jumping to conclusions.

About 2 to 3 freight trains an hour pass my house going back and fore to the Rayong area. At a guess I would say at least 50% are containers. It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that some of those are headed to Malaysia and beyond. Would it be out of the question for them to make a sea crossing and join the rail network at Hat Yai rather than trundle up to Bangkok before heading south. Wouldn't surprise me if it ended up as mainly container trucking without the cabs.

I would have thought that once they start work on the HS line efforts may be made to reduce traffic on the eastern line and there could be a government incentive to use the sea link to the south.

Posts using trolling images have been removed. 

On 3/18/2021 at 5:05 AM, spidermike007 said:

I support any alternatives to the clogged, slow, treacherous highways here. More public transportation options are needed. I would take this ferry, to avoid what is a truly horrific drive. An overnight trip on a ship with a private stateroom. Sounds delightful and progressive to me. 

By all means come back on here in 12 months time and update us on your experiences while using this service....if it`s still running of course

19 hours ago, sandyf said:

" until no one wants to sail with them"

Why should it be about people? there is a bigger picture to consider before jumping to conclusions.

About 2 to 3 freight trains an hour pass my house going back and fore to the Rayong area. At a guess I would say at least 50% are containers. It wouldn't be unreasonable to think that some of those are headed to Malaysia and beyond. Would it be out of the question for them to make a sea crossing and join the rail network at Hat Yai rather than trundle up to Bangkok before heading south. Wouldn't surprise me if it ended up as mainly container trucking without the cabs.

I would have thought that once they start work on the HS line efforts may be made to reduce traffic on the eastern line and there could be a government incentive to use the sea link to the south.

I live near the Banglamung station. I'm pretty sure that is the same line. There is a turn off from the main line which goes to Laem Chabang port.

1 hour ago, petermik said:

By all means come back on here in 12 months time and update us on your experiences while using this service....if it`s still running of course

Perhaps it is this kind of closed minded resistance to change and progress that keeps Thailand in the dark ages, when it comes to alternative transportation options. Go ahead. Stick with the slow and perilous highways, if that works for you. 

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Go ahead. Stick with the slow and perilous highways, if that works for you. 

The problem is a ferry is far slower moving, travels near the same distance.... and may also be perilous.