Fire Fire Breaks Out on Classic Yacht Off Sattahip Coast

[Georgealbert]

 

Pictures courtesy of Daily News.

 

A fire broke out on a nearly 100-year-old yacht in the waters off the coast of Sattahip, Chonburi, on the morning of 3 May. The blaze started on  the vessel, named Kemi (Hull No. 5000 53626), a 74-foot classic yacht with a  steel hull, as it was anchored 500 meters offshore at Ao Ban Amphoe Bay in the Nakhon Chom Thian district.

 

The fire, which broke out around0 6:30, quickly escalated in the midst of light rain. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but initial reports suggest that the fire may have started in the engine room and spread rapidly to the cabins and bridge.

 

Upon receiving the alarm, Rapeepan Rattanaleam, the Mayor of Nakhon Chom Thian, directed local disaster prevention and relief teams to deploy fire-fighting boats, speedboats, and jet skis from Ocean Angels and Pattaya Water Sports Club. These teams worked together to contain the flames, using water to douse the fire for nearly an hour.

The fire was eventually brought under control and the yacht was towed to shore, where firefighters continued to battle any remaining flames and ensure that the vessel was completely extinguished. At the time of writing, the full extent of the damage has not been determined.

Chidchonok Nakkonoi, the 58-year-old owner of the yacht and a local businessman, was on board at the time of the incident. He described how, while enjoying coffee with three others on the yacht’s deck, he smelled burning and saw smoke coming from the engine room below deck. He immediately rushed to investigate, finding sparks igniting inside the engine compartment. Despite using an onboard fire extinguisher to try and contain the blaze, the fire quickly intensified. The group then fled the vessel, using the life raft to escape to safety.

 

Chidchonok suspects that the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit, though the investigation is ongoing.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Daily News 2025-05-03.

 

 

 

 

[khunPer]

Well done reaction by jet ski and speedboat, trying to extinguish the fire...👍

[Gottfrid]

Bad business year. Somebody needed the insurance money

[mikebell]

19 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

enjoying coffee with three others on the yacht’s deck, he smelled burning and saw smoke coming from the engine room below deck.

Luckily he had recently renewed his insurance.

[Georgealbert]

Have i must something in my post? Or are the AN non-experts really convinced that every fire is an insurance job.

 

Naive and unqualified nonsense. People with no idea about fire investigations, marine insurance and  insurance assessors, seem to think that insurance companies just turn up and willingly hand over the cash, no questions asked.

[impulse]

That's a beautiful boat.  Love the classic lines.  I hope they can rebuild it.

 

[watchcat]

On 5/4/2025 at 2:44 AM, Georgealbert said:

People with no idea about fire investigations, marine insurance and  insurance assessors, seem to think that insurance companies just turn up and willingly hand over the cash, no questions asked

 

This is nonsense talk

[Georgealbert]

31 minutes ago, watchcat said:

 

This is nonsense talk

Really, tell me your qualifications and experience on fire investigation, as I am looking forward to be educated as to why my post is nonsense.

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 5/4/2025 at 9:44 AM, Georgealbert said:

Have i must something in my post? Or are the AN non-experts really convinced that every fire is an insurance job.

 

Naive and unqualified nonsense. People with no idea about fire investigations, marine insurance and  insurance assessors, seem to think that insurance companies just turn up and willingly hand over the cash, no questions asked.

 

They certainly won't pay out in many cases without thorough investigation. 

 

I subcontracted for a classification society in Thailand some time ago. We received regular work where we were hired by the insurers or their investigators to provide evidence to support (or refute) the insurance claim i.e. inspection reports, non-destructive testing, etc.

 

In the vast majority of cases we did not find evidence to support the insurance claim. That was not up to us to decide however, we only provided the reports.

 

Often the asset under inspection was barely damaged, and had been resold to another party, with the owner trying to claim insurance for minor damage. Double dipping. 

 

I can recall a few cases in which the company owner got violent and started threatening our inspection team to find damage that wasn't there. 

 

Fun times.

[Georgealbert]

36 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

 

They certainly won't pay out in many cases without thorough investigation. 

 

I subcontracted for a classification society in Thailand some time ago. We received regular work where we were hired by the insurers or their investigators to provide evidence to support (or refute) the insurance claim i.e. inspection reports, non-destructive testing, etc.

 

In the vast majority of cases we did not find evidence to support the insurance claim. That was not up to us to decide however, we only provided the reports.

 

Often the asset under inspection was barely damaged, and had been resold to another party, with the owner trying to claim insurance for minor damage. Double dipping. 

 

I can recall a few cases in which the company owner got violent and started threatening our inspection team to find damage that wasn't there. 

 

Fun times.

Fully agree.

 

I also wonder if this boat even had insurance to cover this fire, given the age and possible lack of fire protection system. Many local boats from that marina are not covered for fire damage. The last fire in that area, a tour boat had no coverage.

 

The facts are also, if this was arson, it was very poorly planned.

 

Why start a fire so close to shore, it is easily spotted and responders can reach fairly quickly.

 

If it had been out to sea, good chance it would have sunk and no-one would salvage it.

 

There are plenty of video evidence also available, which shows the development of the fire and actions taken by owner, crew and responders.

 

The limited damage will allow easy determination of the seat of fire, was it a single seat or multiple seat fire (good arson indicator). The seat of fire can be tested for accelerants and lab testing will identify anything unusual.

 

Checks of the engine, fittings, systems and maintenance records will identify possible tampering or deliberate damage. The boat owner and 3 others were on deck, questioning these witnesses will soon highlight any contradictions and falsehoods.

 

It is impossible from the report and videos, to confirm the cause of fire, but forensic police and insurance investigations/assessors will certainly determine the sequence of events and this will effect any possible payout.

 

I stand by what I posted before, people are naive to think every fire is an insurance job and that the insurance willingly hand over the cash, without full and comprehensive investigation.