Six tour boats and a fishing vessel have sunk in the Gulf and the Andaman Sea in the past four days. Two passengers, a skipper and five crew are still missing.

 

The “Sawan Tour” dive boat, carrying 16 tourists, mostly foreigners, on a diving trip near Mu Ko Surin National Park in the Andaman Sea, off Phang-nga province, sank on December 23rd.  16 tourists were rescued and two are missing.

 

The third fleet of the Royal Thai Navy sent a plane to join the search, while vessels boats were dispatched to look for the two missing tourists. The searches continued yesterday, but without success.

 

Yesterday, a speed boat, “Bandaya 19”, carrying over 73 tourists, capsized near Bubu Island, to the east of Adang Island off Satun province. All of the passengers and four crew members were rescued.

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2023-12-26

 

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1 hour ago, webfact said:

The “Sawan Tour” dive boat, carrying 16 tourists, mostly foreigners, on a diving trip near Mu Ko Surin National Park in the Andaman Sea, off Phang-nga province, sank on December 23rd.  16 tourists were rescued and two are missing.

Spot the maths problem - could it be that nobody is actually missing?

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Six tour boats and a fishing vessel have sunk in the Gulf and the Andaman Sea in the past four days. Two passengers, a skipper and five crew are still missing.

Srettha promised safety for tourists.... not off to a good start.

2 hours ago, MangoKorat said:

Spot the maths problem - could it be that nobody is actually missing?

Maybe you are forgetting about the crew?

And who in there right mind mounts 2 x unprotected A/C units on the deck of a boat subject to salt water and offshore elements?

Used to be they killed them on the roads, and with ziplines.....another facet of tourism here that needs to be better focused on safety!

this will be a net positive for tourism.

i always love the signs "safety first"

And that's just the Andaman Sea, there were a few others reported today! They better go to the temple and make some merit quick smart! 

This is the dive boat that sunk . And looks like a river boat that was inappropriately  beng used as a seagoing vessel. Article said the wind blew it over !!??. Just ridiculous https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40034067

1 hour ago, hotchilli said:

Maybe you are forgetting about the crew?

To be fair, the report was the boat had 16 tourists, 16 tourists rescued, two missing implying the 'missing' are tourists.

The safety standards here are very questionable. And so are the maintenance standards, for some very old boats. And what about marine safety inspections, for boats carrying the public? Do they even exist? 

 

Despite protestations to the contrary by goons like Sretta, do they care about the safety of the public one iota? Only if it makes the news. Otherwise, just a stage play, and fake declarations, with no will or sincerity behind them. 

1 hour ago, bdenner said:

And who in there right mind mounts 2 x unprotected A/C units on the deck of a boat subject to salt water and offshore elements?

I was also wondering that before deciding this boat is restricted to dead calm sea trips only. 😀

22 minutes ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

To be fair, the report was the boat had 16 tourists, 16 tourists rescued, two missing implying the 'missing' are tourists.

 

from the article

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40034067

 

Of the 18 passengers on board, 16 have been rescued and taken to Khura Buri Pier near the area. However, two – a cook on the boat and a British tourist – are still missing.

 

 

There have been some close calls, both on land (tour buses catch fire or crash) and at sea. It feels like a major disaster is just around the corner.

 

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

Used to be they killed them on the roads, and with ziplines.....

Delete

4 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

 

from the article

 

Of the 18 passengers on board, 16 have been rescued and taken to Khura Buri Pier near the area. However, two – a cook on the boat and a British tourist – are still missing.

 

 

There have been some close calls, both on land (tour buses catch fire or crash) and at sea. It feels like a major disaster is just around the corner.

 

The missing female foreign tourist and the missing female Thai crewmember are from another boat capsize mentioned in the same article. Regardless, it's the standard of reporting and/or translation from Thai which forever confuses.

I'm thinking TAT may want to begin advertising boating trips and holidays in Thailand as part of their Chinese tourism campaign, should go down well.....no play on words intended.

Im guessing the missing foreign tourist could be English there was an article in the Daily Mail the other day

35 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Im guessing the missing foreign tourist could be English there was an article in the Daily Mail the other day

According to the Daily Telegraph, she was a British artist living in Thailand.

If  a  Thai is  behind the wheel of any  form of transport  ...........forget it

I've taken the speed boats tp Koh Larn before, doesn't take much chop to make boats feel like they'll tear apart. Spooky. Just came from Krabi where we took a long boat tour day before the rough seas. Put that life jacket on at all times. If something happens, you'll be ready.

"Captain what's the weather forecast this mourning"  "What is a weather forecast number one?''

the last week winds have been so strong almost gale force,  I live a lot further north but still the gulf, 

had shirts drying on my porch, ended up on top of the garage, metal clothes hanger and all.  

1 hour ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

I was also wondering that before deciding this boat is restricted to dead calm sea trips only. 😀

They are only restricted to paying customers! 

When I think of safety, Thailand is the last place I think of, it is my main issue with the whole country. I could put up with corruption, xenophobia, HI-SO attitudes, double pricing, immigrations, etc.....but the lack of safety while walking on sidewalks, using crosswalks, travelling in cars/motorcycles/buses/boats/etc., breathing the dirty air, eating the poisoned produce (illegal pesticides), poor unregulated construction, poor unregulated electrical systems, etc are issues I am unwilling to accept. Tourist should be warned before coming here how dangerous it is, God forbid they end up in a hospital, or their insurance doesn't payout.

2 hours ago, PETERTHEEATER said:

To be fair, the report was the boat had 16 tourists, 16 tourists rescued, two missing implying the 'missing' are tourists.

16 tourists on board, 16 rescued implies they were all found.

Two missing might be crew?

It seems that the Thai boat operators neglect to check weather forecasts prior to setting out in vessels that probably are not up to international maritime standards.  

12 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Maybe you are forgetting about the crew?

Nope, it says 16 TOURISTS were being carried and 16 TOURISTS had been rescued buy 2 are missing.

Update on the British tourist.  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12903387/missing-british-millie-young-trapped-sinking-ship-thailand.html

Quote

On Christmas Day, it was reported an inflatable life raft had been found, 20 nautical miles away from where the ship went down.

 

The boat sunk on the 23rd, and they found the raft 20 nautical miles away from that location on the 25th. 

 

Two days at sea with few (if any) provisions and drinking water on a life-raft with a choppy sea-state.

 

They are very, very lucky to be alive. 

 

Were there no flares or EPIRB on the life-raft as required by international maritime law (SOLAS)?

 

Safety at sea is almost non-existent here. 

 

No wonder Chinese tourists are scared to come here.

Another one that the Phuket news "missed"  This passenger speedboat slammed into rocks in the afternoon? 

https://www.thephuketnews.com/russian-girl-5-killed-as-phuket-speedboat-slams-into-rocks-90770.php