Speedboat Explosion Near Phuket Leaves Six Injured, Sparks Panic

[snoop1130]

Pictures courtesy of The Phuket News

 

This morning, the picturesque waters off Phuket turned perilous when a speedboat, carrying tourists on a snorkelling and sightseeing adventure, erupted in flames near Koh Mai Thon. The incident left six people injured, including foreign tourists and crew members, transforming what was meant to be a relaxing day into one of chaos and fear.

 

The Thana Marine 555 departed Tha Chalong Pier with 33 tourists aboard, only to encounter engine trouble around 9am, shortly after arriving at the destination. Witnesses described watching in horror as the vessel caught fire and exploded, leaving only the captain and two crew members onboard at the time, with many tourists already in the sea.

 

Director Nachaphong Pranit from the Phuket Marine Office confirmed that the captain and a crew member suffered burns, while the others sustained injuries from flying debris. The swift response saw maritime officials and the Thai Navy rush to the scene, although the boat was completely engulfed before assistance could intervene.

 

 

 

 

The explosion sent shockwaves through social media, igniting concerns over boat safety standards in Thailand. Although the cause remains under investigation, officials promise a rigorous review of the incident and emphasise the importance of stringent safety protocols for tour operators.

 

This fiery tragedy underscores the urgent need for improved emergency preparedness in Phuket as it continues to attract scores of tourists eager for its maritime delights, reported The Thaiger.

 

Pictures courtesy of Naewna

 

-- 2025-04-01

 

 

[Sigmund]

Not pointing at this incident, but in general, when it comes to basic maintenance, it seems something unknown in Thailand.

[Peterphuket]

16 hours ago, Sigmund said:

Not pointing at this incident, but in general, when it comes to basic maintenance, it seems something unknown in Thailand.

In my opinion, and this is based on experience with a boat of my own in those waters, it is purely and simply helmsmanship.
They do not possess that, unfortunately.

And above all, disobeying rules and regulations, but that also falls under the concept of helmsmanship.

 

[newbee2022]

16 hours ago, Sigmund said:

Not pointing at this incident, but in general, when it comes to basic maintenance, it seems something unknown in Thailand.

Maintenance is one issue.

Another is being prepared for possible accidents.

Crucial for boats is water inside by leaks. Strong water pumps are lacking in most cases.

Another terrifying incident is fire. 

In this case sufficient fire extinguishers or a gas detector or a combination of both was obviously missing.

[Joe Boy Walton]

So basically a bus, on water. We know how that works.

[factual monk]

Looking at the pics... damn bad shape... Good luck to all survivors... they got a new lease of life... 👍 

[ronster]

Second one in a week. Catching up with buses at this rate .

[JJ-Thailand]

Not surprised.

[1happykamper]

Many were snorkeling! Geeeeez. 

[DUNROAMIN]

Moral of the story to live longer in Thailand, keep away from tour buses and boats.

[Classic Ray]

If fuelled by petrol or gas, there is always a strong risk of fire.

 

There should be some regulation mandating the use of diesel or other less flammable fuel when passengers are carried. Proper risk management.

[CharlieH]

Post in foreign language removed. English ONLY please

[jcmj]

Surprised that it held that many people. Lucky for them they were almost all in the water or else it would have been a total bloodbath. All comes down to the same issue with so many accidents happening here. No maintenance or upkeep and cutting corners to save money and make more money. 

[StandardIssue]

Phuket is getting be a very dangerous place. There seems to be a lot of accidents and issues there. Wow. Avoid. I was there in 1999. It was great and still fairly untouched. Today ... played out! It's a real shame!

[Patong2021]

Nothing new. A few years ago we were reading about fires and sinkings and there was a much  publicized "crackdown". 

[actonion]

1 hour ago, Classic Ray said:

If fuelled by petrol or gas, there is always a strong risk of fire.

 

There should be some regulation mandating the use of diesel or other less flammable fuel when passengers are carried. Proper risk management.

Thai's dont do maintenance or regulations

[sammieuk1]

Sounds like a Phoenix tours operation with Russians instead of Chinese 🤔 

[JJ-Thailand]

14 minutes ago, StandardIssue said:

Phuket is getting be a very dangerous place. There seems to be a lot of accidents and issues there. Wow. Avoid. I was there in 1999. It was great and still fairly untouched.

 

I was in Phuket 1979, it was great. Now it is a sh***ole, not much better than Pattaya.

[KhunLA]

The 'hate' is strong on this thread ... they are called accidents for a reason 

 

Snorkelers got a good holiday story.   Speeding recovery to crew and other that may have been injured.

[black tabby12345]

19 hours ago, Sigmund said:

Not pointing at this incident, but in general, when it comes to basic maintenance, it seems something unknown in Thailand.

 

Especially in case of the small tour operation firms.

Often Safety 2nd, or 3rd.

Reminds me of another incident reported in January this year.

Sightseeing boat started to sink in the middle of the sea near Phuket.

Fortunately, those on board were rescued before the worst though.

 

33 tourists safely rescued as catamaran sinks off Phuket coast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PETERTHEEATER]

2 hours ago, jcmj said:

Surprised that it held that many people. Lucky for them they were almost all in the water or else it would have been a total bloodbath. All comes down to the same issue with so many accidents happening here. No maintenance or upkeep and cutting corners to save money and make more money. 

The boat would hold as many people as the Captain chose to take on. The maximum number permitted would be on the license........er......Does it have a marine license?😋

[Tailwagsdog]

2 hours ago, KhunLA said:

The 'hate' is strong on this thread ... they are called accidents for a reason 

 

... Accidents don't happen, they are caused.

[wensiensheng]

“ a rigorous review of the incident and emphasise the importance of stringent safety protocols for tour operators.”

 

Similar to what they said they would do last time a boat carrying tourists got into difficulties?

[wensiensheng]

4 hours ago, KhunLA said:

The 'hate' is strong on this thread ... they are called accidents for a reason 

 

Snorkelers got a good holiday story.   Speeding recovery to crew and other that may have been injured.

Many “accidents” are preventable by following safety protocols.

Were they followed in this case? The many previous cases suggest that there may have been some deficiencies in this regard.

 

Writing the whole thing off as “ just an accident “ seems somewhat defeatist and a invitation for more frequent accidents in the future.

[kiwikeith]

22 hours ago, Peterphuket said:

In my opinion, and this is based on experience with a boat of my own in those waters, it is purely and simply helmsmanship.
They do not possess that, unfortunately.

And above all, disobeying rules and regulations, but that also falls under the concept of helmsmanship.

 

I worked on luxury boats many with twin v8 petrol engines, b4 you could start the engines fans ventilated the hull and you couldn't start the engines until sensors cleared the ignition, many years in Thailand I've seen heaps of these boats explode, I wonder if they have this safety measure in place 

[Peterphuket]

5 hours ago, kiwikeith said:

I worked on luxury boats many with twin v8 petrol engines, b4 you could start the engines fans ventilated the hull and you couldn't start the engines until sensors cleared the ignition, many years in Thailand I've seen heaps of these boats explode, I wonder if they have this safety measure in place 

What you say,then you too must have noticed that the ‘safety measure’ does not apply here at all.
Don't know if you have been on the ‘Boatlagoon’, but all those tour boats leaving there go through the canal to open water at a roaring speed, there is a sign saying max speed 5km, sometimes they passed at 50km/h, and I could go on and on.

[kiwikeith]

On 4/3/2025 at 12:17 PM, Peterphuket said:

What you say,then you too must have noticed that the ‘safety measure’ does not apply here at all.
Don't know if you have been on the ‘Boatlagoon’, but all those tour boats leaving there go through the canal to open water at a roaring speed, there is a sign saying max speed 5km, sometimes they passed at 50km/h, and I could go on and on.

Never been near them nor want to but seen plenty of wrecked ones 

[hotchilli]

On 4/1/2025 at 3:47 PM, snoop1130 said:

The explosion sent shockwaves through social media, igniting concerns over boat safety standards in Thailand

Thailands maritime history is a little checkered.

[DUNROAMIN]

They never learn, safety and maintenance are forbidin words in Thailand.

[wavodavo]

On 4/2/2025 at 12:59 PM, Classic Ray said:

If fuelled by petrol or gas, there is always a strong risk of fire.

 

There should be some regulation mandating the use of diesel or other less flammable fuel when passengers are carried. Proper risk management.

Good idea, that regulation could be added to the ones that they all follow strictly including all skippers fully qualified and licensed , regular seawothy and maintenence inspections, carrying at least 1 life jacket for every passenger and strict adherence to only the licensed no. of passengers to be carried  on boat.