Chonburi to Songkhla (and Prachuap) ferry comes a step closer to reality - safety checks done

[steve187]

29 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

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

its 600km against 1000km by road, i am sure a large lorry would take 15 ish hours to do the journey, but surely the semi trailer could go without the cab unit, a company doing the journey regularly could have cab units both ends.

[sandyf]

3 hours ago, Wongkitlo said:

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.

Not sure what you are trying to say, that there are containers going from Laem Chabang to Songkhla?

Even if there is, there has to be advantages in a RO-RO service from Sattahip.

[sandyf]

41 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

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

There is a massive amount of shipping in the Gulf of Thailand, how much of it is "perilous".

I take your point though. The ship is the same type and size as the Herald of Free Enterprise and we all know what happened to that.

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

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

Traveling as the crow flies, my guess it would be at least 150-200km. shorter. Plus, the idea of hanging out on a comfortable ship, instead of these overcrowded and perilous highways is very appealing to me. Not to mention the need to time the trip around the 3-5 hour Bangkok rush hour morning and evening. 

[Kerryd]

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

Not to mention the need to time the trip around the 3-5 hour Bangkok rush hour morning and evening. 

Indeed. If I'm heading West from Pattaya, I'll try to leave no later than 04:00 so I'm at the motorcycle ferry by 06:00 (ish) and even then the Bang Na (under the expressway) is often busy already when you are still out in the east side of Samut Prakan.

Then you get off the ferry and try to get out of the traffic which is already very heavy. Even though "theoretically" most of it is heading into Bangkok, it can still be a major headache. Especially if you have to do u-turns and ride along "frontage" roads until you are outside of the main urban area.

Same going the other way. I did it once in the late afternoon and it was nuts. I think it took about 2 hours longer than it should have (if the traffic had of been lighter).
My friends waited until around 1 am and had a much easier go of it (but I was home about 5 hours before they even started towards Bkk). 

And it seems, again, that this ferry is only going to Prachuap Khiri Kan and not to Songkla despite the recent news article saying otherwise. Again, depending on price, schedule and sailing time(s), it might be an alternative to riding/driving around to there.

Sitting in a comfy chair enjoying the ocean breezes and relaxing for a few hours compared to being glued to the seat of a motorcycle crawling along in Bangkok traffic (and pollution) for just as long ? 
Hmmmm, tough choice !

[jacko45k]

14 hours ago, steve187 said:

its 600km against 1000km by road, i am sure a large lorry would take 15 ish hours to do the journey, but surely the semi trailer could go without the cab unit, a company doing the journey regularly could have cab units both ends.

If it pulls in at PKK on the way to Songkla that adds many hours.

You have just introduced loading and unloading facility requirements that will slow it down further... there would be containers sliding around all over the place if the seas got choppy. 

These ferry ideas keep coming up but never seem to do very well. 

[steve187]

35 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

there would be containers sliding around all over the place if the seas got choppy.

no straps

[jacko45k]

24 minutes ago, steve187 said:

no straps

They have a habit of not locking them down on the trailers here.....  one was strewn across the road at the Sukhumvit and Hwy 36 junction in Banglamung only Friday night. Also an incident at the Port, Laem Chabang I believe. 

[Kerryd]

Yeah, there's zero chance they'll be loading/unloading containers or even containers on trailers (without the tractor). Would be a total fiasco. And they make ships that are purpose built for that which would be much more efficient (and probably cheaper) than a (purpose built) RoRo ferry.

[Wongkitlo]

21 hours ago, sandyf said:

Not sure what you are trying to say, that there are containers going from Laem Chabang to Songkhla?

Even if there is, there has to be advantages in a RO-RO service from Sattahip.

It is quite easy to follow the railway track on Google maps. The containers you see probably go to the port at Laem Chabang and are shipped from there. The rail line goes to Laem Chabang container terminal. I doubt they are going by rail to Malaysia.

[petermik]

On 3/20/2021 at 10:19 AM, spidermike007 said:

Traveling as the crow flies, my guess it would be at least 150-200km. shorter. Plus, the idea of hanging out on a comfortable ship, instead of these overcrowded and perilous highways is very appealing to me.

Again come back in 12 months time and tell us all about how well it`s doing.....

These "entrepreneurs" who have come up with this idea are still not listing any price details,surely before operating any business cost and income are number one priorities....it is doomed just as many other ridiculous and far fetched schemes they come up with here.

[pontious]

6 hours ago, jacko45k said:

If it pulls in at PKK on the way to Songkla that adds many hours.

You have just introduced loading and unloading facility requirements that will slow it down further... there would be containers sliding around all over the place if the seas got choppy. 

These ferry ideas keep coming up but never seem to do very well. 

It is not going to Songkhla -@Hammerman on the other threads on this - there are 6! who seems connected to this venture says they have spent several years looking for berths at Songkhla with safe access and have found none. He says it is going to PKK only.

[jacko45k]

17 hours ago, pontious said:

He says it is going to PKK only.

And why.... it is not really a tourist destination nor industrial one.

[sandyf]

21 hours ago, Wongkitlo said:

It is quite easy to follow the railway track on Google maps. The containers you see probably go to the port at Laem Chabang and are shipped from there. The rail line goes to Laem Chabang container terminal. I doubt they are going by rail to Malaysia.

If I saw any containers heading to Laem Chabang, they would be coming from Bangkok. Very unlikely as there is a sea container service between Bangkok and Songkhla.

At the end of the day, if industry want a service from Sattahip to Songkhla they will use it, irrespective of what others think.

[sandyf]

On 3/21/2021 at 7:31 AM, Kerryd said:

Yeah, there's zero chance they'll be loading/unloading containers or even containers on trailers (without the tractor). Would be a total fiasco. And they make ships that are purpose built for that which would be much more efficient (and probably cheaper) than a (purpose built) RoRo ferry.

Do you rally believe that the Ro-Ros between Dover and Calais do not carry containers?

[sandyf]

On 3/21/2021 at 5:33 AM, jacko45k said:

... there would be containers sliding around all over the place if the seas got choppy. 

Like my dinner on Hull to Rotterdam.

[Golden Triangle]

The way some people on here whine & bump their gums about a new service you would think that the people behind this project were using their money to fund it.

 

I'll let it settle in & when I'm ready I will book a return crossing with cabin and enjoy the peaceful, comfortable, stress free journey & spend a few days having a relaxing few days with the Mrs without having to negotiate that hell called Bangkok.

 

I wish it had been operational when I drove down to Satun and back ( Adaman coast/ Gulf coast ) thank you very much, I presume all you moaners won't be on board. ????

[pontious]

2 hours ago, Golden Triangle said:

The way some people on here whine & bump their gums about a new service you would think that the people behind this project were using their money to fund it.

 

I'll let it settle in & when I'm ready I will book a return crossing with cabin and enjoy the peaceful, comfortable, stress free journey & spend a few days having a relaxing few days with the Mrs without having to negotiate that hell called Bangkok.

 

I wish it had been operational when I drove down to Satun and back ( Adaman coast/ Gulf coast ) thank you very much, I presume all you moaners won't be on board. ????

Well if you are going to Satun you will still have a 9 hour journey from PKK.

[Golden Triangle]

58 minutes ago, pontious said:

Well if you are going to Satun you will still have a 9 hour journey from PKK.

I'm not going to Satun, all I said was it would have been nice to have had the option rather than that God awful drive from Pattaya, around Bangkok and the awful roads. ????

[impulse]

On 3/17/2021 at 11:55 PM, Chelseafan said:

Absolutely.

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

 

Do Pattaya and Hua Hin have offshore oil production bases at each end?  Because Sattahip and Songkhla do. 

 

Those customers alone could easily support the ferry.  Passenger traffic and personal vehicles will just absorb some overhead.

 

BTW, the answer to the question is...nope.  Neither Patts nor HH have oil production bases. 

 

To be fair, I anticipate some teething problems as the oil and service companies adjust to the new resource.  But long term, they can fill that ferry with equipment and workers, paying a premium price for the service.  And think of all the 28/28 guys who won't be stuck in Songkhla on their days off.  Pattaya...woohoo!  That's going to support all kinds of ground transport from Sattahip to Patts.

[impulse]

On 3/20/2021 at 1:54 AM, jacko45k said:

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

 

Watch the content.  If it's full of oilfield equipment and/or workers, it will be a lot safer than the roads. 

 

Just by the nature of those customers.

[pontious]

Read the other 6 threads on this - it is not going to Songkhla - and probably never will - it is going to PKK only.

[Kerryd]

10 hours ago, pontious said:

Read the other 6 threads on this - it is not going to Songkhla - and probably never will - it is going to PKK only.

Seems like it, despite all the "official" announcements to the contrary. And the one post that say they've been looking for a "safe place" to berth in Songkla for "several years" with no success makes you wonder why they were even mentioning it as a destination at all.

And I've seen what passes for "safe" on the ferry to/from Koh Chang, the motorcycle ferry on the Chao Praya and the car and motorcycle ferries at Paknai (on the lake between Nan and Uttaradit). "Safe" seems to be a relative term (or an alternate way of saying "pretty much anything, anywhere is safe enough for us") !