Ferry from South Thailand to Sattahip passes test - but it wasn't full and took 22+ hours

[canthai55]

21 hours ago, rwill said:

Checking on Google maps it takes about 15 hours to drive there...

Good luck with that.

 

[tifino]

12 minutes ago, Almer said:

Seeing the lorry coming of there is little room over the cab for larger loads, or is it an optical illusion?

looks a perspective trick by the lens in use...  

- did a corrected perspective, which shows there's more headroom than first thought

 

 

[tifino]

2 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

21 hours ago, rwill said:

Checking on Google maps it takes about 15 hours to drive there...

Good luck with that.

or about 2500 baht by taxi... 

[Excel]

2 minutes ago, tifino said:

looks a perspective trick by the lens in use...  

- did a corrected perspective, which shows there's more headroom than first thought

 

 

Try blowing the picture up and and on the beam above the truck I think it reads "Height 4.2 mtr but it is not to clear to me.

[tifino]

27 minutes ago, Excel said:

Try blowing the picture up and and on the beam above the truck I think it reads "Height 4.2 mtr but it is not to clear to me.

yes... did a quick pinpoints enhancement... and voila! 4.2m ???? 

[Jen65]

1 hour ago, HammerMan said:

As usual a mix of badly informed persons, trolls and sensible people..

Clearly some people are anti Thai no matter what they do.  

This project has taken almost 5 years to reach this point and it's been carefully planned and thought out, but unlike many countries most Thai ports were built away from cities and in remote areas. This creates challenges especially as everyone knows water depths within the Gulf of Thailand coast lines are very shallow, limiting options on vessel sizes and workable port locations, hence the massive delays.

Covid-19 has also created delays and challenges.

 

As the vessel will operate on a "Domestic" basis its governed by law to be Thai Flag, Thai Crew and Thai Class. However, this does not mean its destined to sink, flounder or fail simply because its Thai... The management is totally professional, the Officers and Crew have all sailed on vessels owned/operated by Foreign Owners and their qualifications are accepted to be international standards. The vessel is also strictly monitored by the Marine Department to ensure it meets the highest safety and maintenance requirements. The owners, managers and operators of The Blue Dolphin all come from solid Maritime backgrounds with in excess of 50-60 years experience each. The current delays are due to finalising licences for the port operators to accept a vessel of The Blue Dolphin's size.  

Prices have not been shown simply because at this stage under Covid-19 regulations we're limited to operating with Trucks + 1 Driver per truck.  Cars/passengers etc.. are not permitted at this stage.  In reply to one comment, The Pattaya/Hua Hin "ferry" was strictly carrying passengers only and operated by a Chinese/Thai connection, absolutely nothing to do with Seahorse Ferries.  We are hoping to start operating by early June once the ports receive the necessary permits and then time will tell who was right and who was wrong. 

 

I wish you the best of luck .  You better hope they don't build that enormous bridge across the Gulf of Thailand .

[ChipButty]

Done that trip a few times Newcastle to Esborg had 3 pints and the boat was still tied up in Newcastle. this is going to be a long journey 

Great restaurants with Smörgåsbord

[HammerMan]

In case you were wondering what's the latest with The Blue Dolphin and the ever evasive ferry service, which has already experienced 6 months of bureaucratic delays and endless meetings/discussions and multiple visits from a multitude of Government Organisations .. the answer is basically still "deadlocked".  The Marine Department in Songkhla still hasn't agreed to commencing the service for reasons best known to themselves, apparently for fear of the local residents objecting to the additional traffic the ferry may bring to the area. Never mind about boosting tourism, creating jobs and boosting the economy which in these crazy times are desperately needed.

To say we are reaching breaking point is an understatement and as previously suggested by some contributors it maybe time to take this project to other countries.  At the moment it looks like mid July is D-Day, win or lose.

[MarcelV]

On 6/10/2021 at 10:50 AM, HammerMan said:

To say we are reaching breaking point is an understatement and as previously suggested by some contributors it maybe time to take this project to other countries.  At the moment it looks like mid July is D-Day, win or lose.

 

Just cancel it already. You've spent a lot of time and effort and the authorities don't seem willing to cooperate and get it done.

If you have a good, seaworthy ferry, take it somewhere they don't have a gazillion feet of red tape to cut.

[HammerMan]

19 hours ago, MarcelV said:

 

Just cancel it already. You've spent a lot of time and effort and the authorities don't seem willing to cooperate and get it done.

If you have a good, seaworthy ferry, take it somewhere they don't have a gazillion feet of red tape to cut.

Easy to say when you haven't dedicated your time, money and life in the project.  We've come so far that its worth trying to get it started.... but... I hear you,  eventually you have to accept defeat and move on not matter how much it hurts.

[Yahooka]

On 5/29/2021 at 9:34 AM, tifino said:

or about 2500 baht by taxi... 

2.500 baht ? No chance.

[Patong2021]

On 5/29/2021 at 4:15 AM, Jen65 said:

I wish you the best of luck .  You better hope they don't build that enormous bridge across the Gulf of Thailand .

Construction of bridge not going to happen for 5+ years. look how long it take to initiate and approve new high speed rail line from Bangkok to south. 10+ years and still not complete

 

On 6/9/2021 at 11:50 PM, HammerMan said:

In case you were wondering what's the latest with The Blue Dolphin and the ever evasive ferry service, which has already experienced 6 months of bureaucratic delays and endless meetings/discussions and multiple visits from a multitude of Government Organisations .. the answer is basically still "deadlocked".  The Marine Department in Songkhla still hasn't agreed to commencing the service for reasons best known to themselves, apparently for fear of the local residents objecting to the additional traffic the ferry may bring to the area. Never mind about boosting tourism, creating jobs and boosting the economy which in these crazy times are desperately needed.

To say we are reaching breaking point is an understatement and as previously suggested by some contributors it maybe time to take this project to other countries.  At the moment it looks like mid July is D-Day, win or lose.

 

Thank you for taking time to give information. I hope this can operate and it would be fantastic if it stopped at PKK even if only sometimes like on weekend or holidays because it can allow for tourist trade between south and ChaAm Hua Hin area. It is a short train or bus ride to to PKK and I can see some taking romantic or family weekend down the coast. I would gladly book room to arrive rested and refreshed. I wish you best of success.

[ChipButty]

I hope you get it up and sailing I wish you luck, One day it would be good to hear the real story behind it all as I know it's not easy doing business in Thailieland 

[steve187]

On 5/29/2021 at 2:36 PM, Excel said:

Try blowing the picture up and and on the beam above the truck I think it reads "Height 4.2 mtr but it is not to clear to me.

better photo here - and yes 4.2m

[Jeffr2]

On 6/12/2021 at 4:26 PM, HammerMan said:

Easy to say when you haven't dedicated your time, money and life in the project.  We've come so far that its worth trying to get it started.... but... I hear you,  eventually you have to accept defeat and move on not matter how much it hurts.

I heard you just got approval in Songkla?  A message from my friend who met you a few weeks ago:

 

Songkhla has given green light for docking so the Sattahip-Songkhla service will start June 28th

[HammerMan]

10 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

I heard you just got approval in Songkla?  A message from my friend who met you a few weeks ago:

 

Songkhla has given green light for docking so the Sattahip-Songkhla service will start June 28th

Yes we have agreement with all concerned parties and a verbal agreement with the Songkhla Marine Department. We will submit Monday a formal request from the Marine Department in Bangkok for written confirmation and approval of proposed pricing. We also understand we can also carry cars and only restriction is no 'walk in passengers', i.e. not in a vehicle will be allowed at this stage. Our target start date is 28th June, assuming Marine Department do not raise any objections. Will update soonest.

[impulse]

13 hours ago, HammerMan said:

We also understand we can also carry cars and only restriction is no 'walk in passengers', i.e. not in a vehicle will be allowed at this stage. Our target start date is 28th June, assuming Marine Department do not raise any objections. Will update soonest.

 

Does that mean no scooters?  

 

Best of luck on this.  I wish you guys were operating while I was contracted to work the offshore oilfields of Songkhla.  Would have saved us a ton of money having stuff fabricated in SHP, which was usually quoted a lot cheaper than SKL.  But logistic costs and delays killed us there.

 

[MarcelV]

Still having my doubts about the feasibility, HammerMan. If I were you, I'd cancel everything and move somewhere else.

[HammerMan]

23 hours ago, MarcelV said:

Still having my doubts about the feasibility, HammerMan. If I were you, I'd cancel everything and move somewhere else.

 

Yes I understand well your thoughts.. The past 5 months have been a massive uphill climb with unbelievable and at times impossible requests, especially from within the Marine Department. It's as if we have created something totally new, never been seen before anywhere in the world and they're trying to understand with "off the wall" requests. As of today the start up date has already moved to the 1st of July..  We are confident that ultimately we will succeed and hopefully we'll prove to everyone this is a good thing or die trying.

[MarcelV]

On 6/21/2021 at 1:35 PM, HammerMan said:

 

Yes I understand well your thoughts.. The past 5 months have been a massive uphill climb with unbelievable and at times impossible requests, especially from within the Marine Department. It's as if we have created something totally new, never been seen before anywhere in the world and they're trying to understand with "off the wall" requests. As of today the start up date has already moved to the 1st of July..  We are confident that ultimately we will succeed and hopefully we'll prove to everyone this is a good thing or die trying.

Well, good luck then, Cpt. Ponter!

 

I'd love to one day be able to take my car or go on foot from Songkhla to Sattaheep v.v.

Any chance of extending the service to Narathiwat in the future?

[HammerMan]

On 6/23/2021 at 12:14 PM, MarcelV said:

Well, good luck then, Cpt. Ponter!

 

I'd love to one day be able to take my car or go on foot from Songkhla to Sattaheep v.v.

Any chance of extending the service to Narathiwat in the future?

The ferry will begin service with a soft opening whilst we install additional food and beverage facilities and better section off accommodation areas.. First voyage from Sattahip will be 1st July 2021..  Having battled for 5 years to get this far, we will settle down this route prior to expanding further. We also anticipate that eventually we'll have competitors.