A good Thai friend of mine "Ze" has a boat and I have been helping him get some business doing fishing tours. I gave him some graphics in english and help him talk with farang on the phone. In exchange, I get to go along on trips when invited.

The boat and all gear is his. He mans the boat occasionally with another Thai national when needed.

Here's my question.

If anything happened on the trip (god forbid) who is responsible?

I heard of a Japanese family sueing some Thai's once ..Could that be true?

My Friend Ze has no money. But does own his house. Should Ze register his business?

Could I be held responsible since Im slightly involved? My friends suggested I get a liability form made ( like all the dive boats do) But I protested beacuse its NOT my business.

Coming from the west to think a boat operates with NO such insurance is still hard to believe.

Anyone out there with similar experiences?

Your comments are greatly appreciated.

I think you are asking us for legal advice which really you can only get from a lawyer. But...if I'm riding on the back of someone's motorcycle and he/she hits someone it is hard for me to believe that I would be held responsible unless I did something to directly cause the misshap like cover the driver's eyes or shift my weight in an unusual way. You can always find the grey areas. If I was sexually stimulating the driver could I be held responsible? If someone invited me to go out in their boat I would not worry that I would be held responsible assuming that I didn't do something to precipitate a misshap