Andaman Storm Sinks Dive Boat: Seven dead

[stevenl]

blind or limited experience

the standard of diver training on phuket is woeful

No, open minded and extensive experience all over the world, including 10 years Phuket diving.

[stevenl]

We're going a bit off topic though.

[thaiwanderer]

We're going a bit off topic though.

disagree regarding standards but agree regarding OT (save that bunfight for another day).

as regards the boat regardless of the true cause i don't think it will ever be public knowledge and whether a freak accident or not on this occasion the lack of transparency in the final analysis in events such as this is bad for overall safety

[NBT TV Phuket]

Item --2--- on VDO at http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/prev...hp?news_id=1018

or

All victims from last week’s boat accident were recovered with the last body found on Friday afternoon.

The last body of the diving boat accident off Phuket was recovered and brought to shore at Phuket Deep Seaport on Friday evening. The body was identified as a 36 year old Thai man, Sornthas Jampa, who was working on board as a cook. Previous Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan, in his last mission before moving from Phuket, met the team at the port and performed a ritual ceremony according to Buddhist belief, before the body was taken to Wachira Hospital in the city for identification and autopsy. The recovery followed a Royal Thai Navy plane’s search which spotted something in the sea believed to be the body and notified the marine police boat of the location. The commander of the boat TOR 814 Pol.Lt. Panya Chaichana said after the report, the team spent another 2 hours before spotting the body floating, 10 kilometres away from the reported spot. The recovery of the body concluded the search operation for the Phuket authorities and Dive Asia the dive company. Their boat sank on Sunday night when it was returning from Similan Islands heading for Chalong pier in Phuket and reportedly capsized under the force of severe weather.

Andaman News NBT TV (VHF dial) + Radio Thailand FM90.5 at 8.30am & perhaps repeats on Phuket Cable TV channel 1 at 7pm & 1am, broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces & maybe Mazz Radio FM108 at 7pm in Phuket, Monday 16 March 2009 & http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/

& www.YouTube.com/AndamanNews Send comments to [email protected]

[thaiwanderer]

The design and construction of the boat together with the weather conditions are of course key issues as to ascertaining why the boat sank.

However there seems to be a gap in the timetable of events that is worrying to say the least.

Some of the reports on the timings are vague and conflicting but generally appears to be as follows (if I am missing anything my apologies):-

17.00hrs boat leaves the Similans

22.00hrs Telephone contact with boat - all ok.

22.50hrs boat sinks (approx 12 nautical miles off Patong)

ETA at Chalong 01.00 (Dive Asia CD says this in television interview) or 02.00-04.00hrs.

08.00hrs Dive Asia inform authorities that boat not arrived at Chalong.

So what was happening between supposed ETA and 08.00hrs (especially since the boat was already in range for telephone contact at 22.00hrs)(which depending on the timings was a gap of 7hours or between 6-4hours)? Are we to assume that a decision to inform the authorities was only made upon the dive office itself opening?

Also an emergency signal was not made from the boat (the boat was apparently well equipped, too little time for any kind of distress signal?) nor from the liferafts (lack of equipment? - the fishing boat that recovered them at approx 12.00hrs was signalled by a mirror).

Edited March 16, 2009 by thaiwanderer

[space666x]

from Diva Asia's website

http://www.diveasia.com/blog/2009/03/mv-di...cidentfrom.html :

Accident Chronology

On the 8th of March at about 5:30PM the MV Dive Asia departed from the

Similan Islands in perfect weather conditions for a routine return to

Phuket. There was great visibility, very light winds with no noticeable waves.

10:26PM

A guest sent an SMS to her family telling them that she was already

on the way back to Phuket, where she would disembark in the morning, and

that the weather had been perfect with no rain during the entire trip.

10:50PM

After entering a sudden thunderstorm, the boat was hit by a vortex

and capsized. There were no high waves. The wind was why the boat capsized.

This happened so quickly and without warning that not even an alarm could be

sounded. On board were 30 people:

8 Thai Crew

3 Dive Guides

19 Guests of various nationalities

The boat sank within one minute, but 23 of the 30 people on board were able

to leave the sinking ship. The two life rafts on board deployed, and after a

while, all 23 people were able to get on the life rafts.

The survivors searched for the missing people, but could not find anybody.

After about 45 minutes the sea was calm again, and the life rafts drifted.

Two sailing boats passed close to the life rafts, but did not respond to the

red signal flares fired.

March 9th 8:00AM

Benno Brandon arrived at Chalong Pier in order to meet the boat and greet

the guests, and also to have breakfast with them before they disembarked.

Arriving at the end of the pier, he saw that the boat was not there.

After calling all the boat's numbers and trying to contact the boat by

radio, he contacted his partner Juergen Schenker to check if there was any

information about why the boat arrival back to port was delayed.

Realizing that something was wrong, we notified the authorities through our

Thai Manager Ms. Wimonrat Bangthao at around 8:30AM. We then started our own

search for the boat by speed boat and also from land from the top of a

nearby mountain.

Our last contact with the boat had been around 10:00PM, and the boat had

been between the airport and Patong beach at the time. The authorities

started a search also, but with no result.

March 9th around 1:00PM

The Dive Asia office received a call from tour leader Daniel Brunner, who is

one of the survivors. He called from a fisherman's mobile phone to inform us

of his location, and that 23 survivors had been picked up by a local

fisherman. We notified the authorities, and a Thai Marine Police boat went

to pick up the survivors.

The 23 people arrived at 4:30PM in the deep seaport in Ao Makham. They were

exhausted, dehydrated and sunburned, with minor scraps and cuts, but none of

the survivors had major injuries.

Missing at the time were:

1 Thai National (our cook)

1 Japanese (Guest)

3 Austrians (Guest)

2 Swiss (Guest)

It was wrongly reported that some of the missing guests were German.

March 10th

The search for the missing 7 people continued. The body of one person was

found and returned to Ao Makham.

The approximate location where the boat sunk was pinpointed near Patong

Beach. A dive team from Deep Blue Divers checked the location and found debris

confirming that the wreck was close, but did not locate the wreck itself.

The depth is in the area is around 70 meters. Later that night, the Thai

Navy identified two possible locations and wrongly assumed that the wreck

was broken in half.

March 11th

The search for the still missing six persons continued. Joerg and Andreas

from Deep Blue Divers and Ben from the SSS chamber made a dive to confirm the

location of the wreck, as well as to check the wreck to determine how many

guests might still remain on board.

They found four people still in their cabins, but due to the depth of the

wreck and time restraints, recovery was not possible at the time.

The search for the still missing two people continued. The missing were our

Thai cook and a guest from Japan.

March 12th

A dive team consisting of Joerg and Andres from Deep Blue Divers, Ben from the SSS

Chamber and Mathew from Pro Tech Diving College made a dive and recovered

the four people found the day before, and also search the boat further for

the two still missing people. They found the Japanese guest and returned to

the surface. The Thai Marine Police returned the remains to Ao Makam.

The search for our missing cook continued.

March 13th

The dive team made a further search of the boat and the surrounding waters,

but were unable to locate our missing cook. Personal effects of the people

on board were recovered. While the dive team was still in decompression, we

were informed that a search helicopter spotted a body in the water 22 miles

south of the wreck location. A police boat was dispatched. In the evening we

were informed that the recovered body was our missing cook.

Everyone on board was accounted for. We are very sad and distraught over

this tragedy. Our hearts are with the families of the deceased, and we

grieve with them.

Many of you expressed your support for us, and we are very thankful for

this. It is heartwarming to have Mona come by our office with big bag of

sandwiches because you don't have time to eat, or to hear that Rene from Sea

Fun Divers had been filling 50% oxygen bottles for Ben in the dive team free

of charge. Also others like Franz of Blue Dolphin deserve our special thanks

for organizing and conducting their own search for the missing.

Profile from Dani's D6 (Dive Computer) On March 8

22:48 goes into dive mode

22:49 depth 2m

22:50 depth 2m

22:50:30 depth 57 meter

22:51 depth 68 meters

[hadodi]

from Diva Asia's website

http://www.diveasia.com/blog/2009/03/mv-di...cidentfrom.html :

Accident Chronology

On the 8th of March at about 5:30PM the MV Dive Asia departed from the

Similan Islands in perfect weather conditions for a routine return to

Phuket. There was great visibility, very light winds with no noticeable waves.

10:26PM

A guest sent an SMS to her family telling them that she was already

on the way back to Phuket, where she would disembark in the morning, and

that the weather had been perfect with no rain during the entire trip.

10:50PM

After entering a sudden thunderstorm, the boat was hit by a vortex

and capsized. There were no high waves. The wind was why the boat capsized.

This happened so quickly and without warning that not even an alarm could be

sounded. On board were 30 people:

8 Thai Crew

3 Dive Guides

19 Guests of various nationalities

The boat sank within one minute, but 23 of the 30 people on board were able

to leave the sinking ship. The two life rafts on board deployed, and after a

while, all 23 people were able to get on the life rafts.

The survivors searched for the missing people, but could not find anybody.

After about 45 minutes the sea was calm again, and the life rafts drifted.

Two sailing boats passed close to the life rafts, but did not respond to the

red signal flares fired.

March 9th 8:00AM

Benno Brandon arrived at Chalong Pier in order to meet the boat and greet

the guests, and also to have breakfast with them before they disembarked.

Arriving at the end of the pier, he saw that the boat was not there.

After calling all the boat's numbers and trying to contact the boat by

radio, he contacted his partner Juergen Schenker to check if there was any

information about why the boat arrival back to port was delayed.

Realizing that something was wrong, we notified the authorities through our

Thai Manager Ms. Wimonrat Bangthao at around 8:30AM. We then started our own

search for the boat by speed boat and also from land from the top of a

nearby mountain.

Our last contact with the boat had been around 10:00PM, and the boat had

been between the airport and Patong beach at the time. The authorities

started a search also, but with no result.

March 9th around 1:00PM

The Dive Asia office received a call from tour leader Daniel Brunner, who is

one of the survivors. He called from a fisherman's mobile phone to inform us

of his location, and that 23 survivors had been picked up by a local

fisherman. We notified the authorities, and a Thai Marine Police boat went

to pick up the survivors.

The 23 people arrived at 4:30PM in the deep seaport in Ao Makham. They were

exhausted, dehydrated and sunburned, with minor scraps and cuts, but none of

the survivors had major injuries.

Missing at the time were:

1 Thai National (our cook)

1 Japanese (Guest)

3 Austrians (Guest)

2 Swiss (Guest)

It was wrongly reported that some of the missing guests were German.

March 10th

The search for the missing 7 people continued. The body of one person was

found and returned to Ao Makham.

The approximate location where the boat sunk was pinpointed near Patong

Beach. A dive team from Deep Blue Divers checked the location and found debris

confirming that the wreck was close, but did not locate the wreck itself.

The depth is in the area is around 70 meters. Later that night, the Thai

Navy identified two possible locations and wrongly assumed that the wreck

was broken in half.

March 11th

The search for the still missing six persons continued. Joerg and Andreas

from Deep Blue Divers and Ben from the SSS chamber made a dive to confirm the

location of the wreck, as well as to check the wreck to determine how many

guests might still remain on board.

They found four people still in their cabins, but due to the depth of the

wreck and time restraints, recovery was not possible at the time.

The search for the still missing two people continued. The missing were our

Thai cook and a guest from Japan.

March 12th

A dive team consisting of Joerg and Andres from Deep Blue Divers, Ben from the SSS

Chamber and Mathew from Pro Tech Diving College made a dive and recovered

the four people found the day before, and also search the boat further for

the two still missing people. They found the Japanese guest and returned to

the surface. The Thai Marine Police returned the remains to Ao Makam.

The search for our missing cook continued.

March 13th

The dive team made a further search of the boat and the surrounding waters,

but were unable to locate our missing cook. Personal effects of the people

on board were recovered. While the dive team was still in decompression, we

were informed that a search helicopter spotted a body in the water 22 miles

south of the wreck location. A police boat was dispatched. In the evening we

were informed that the recovered body was our missing cook.

Everyone on board was accounted for. We are very sad and distraught over

this tragedy. Our hearts are with the families of the deceased, and we

grieve with them.

Many of you expressed your support for us, and we are very thankful for

this. It is heartwarming to have Mona come by our office with big bag of

sandwiches because you don't have time to eat, or to hear that Rene from Sea

Fun Divers had been filling 50% oxygen bottles for Ben in the dive team free

of charge. Also others like Franz of Blue Dolphin deserve our special thanks

for organizing and conducting their own search for the missing.

Profile from Dani's D6 (Dive Computer) On March 8

22:48 goes into dive mode

22:49 depth 2m

22:50 depth 2m

22:50:30 depth 57 meter

22:51 depth 68 meters

There are some very unclear, not saying strange, contradictions in DIVE ASIA’S given chronology, which I would – as a long term friend of one of the victims, as well as a yachtsmen who circumnavigated Australia, NZ and crossed the Indian ocean twice, as well as a participant of the Similan Tour 17.2.-22.2.09 on this vessel, like to be cleared up:

• Did the vessel have an EPIRB?
  
• If yes, when was the signal transmitted?
  
• There was certainly a maritime radio on board. When was a distress signal received?
  
• What authorities issued the master’s certificate of the captain of the sunk vessel?
  
• Which shipyard built this seagoing vessel, which was supposed to carry safely guests from all over the world
  
• When was the ship approved by the relevant authorities?
  
• Due to the fact that DIVE ASIA runs a company which takes for a lot of money divers from all over the world, on those dive safaris, the sunk seagoing ship certainly had been insured with an internationally recognized insurance company. Which company? What had been the conditions to be met to cover eventually loss of the vessel, meaning construction, safety equipment etc.?
  
• Is there or will be there an (international recognized) investigation in this tragic accident?
  

I very much appreciate honest answers and do not expect a cover up as it is usually done in Asia.

[stevenl]

There are some very unclear, not saying strange, contradictions in DIVE ASIA’S given chronology, which I would – as a long term friend of one of the victims, as well as a yachtsmen who circumnavigated Australia, NZ and crossed the Indian ocean twice, as well as a participant of the Similan Tour 17.2.-22.2.09 on this vessel, like to be cleared up:

None of the questions you ask has been addressed in the DA chronology, nor have they anything to do with a chronoly of the event itself. As a participant of a trip on this vessel, it would have made more sense to me if you asked (some) of these questions before your trip and not afterwards.

But still, some of the questions I can answer:

There was no EPIRB, plus I am not sure the Thai Navy or any other rescue ouitfit in the area is equipped to receive EPIRB signals.

There was no distress signal received, because there was no time to send a signal.

The captain was Thai, so I presume he received his captain's certificate in Thailand, probably on Phuket. Sorry, forgot the name of the authority issuing those certifications.

Yes, the vessel was insured. I don't see why anybody apart from the owners would need the conditions to be met to cover eventuelly loss of the vessel.

In Thailand the chances of an internationally recognised investigation are nil.

[hadodi]

There are some very unclear, not saying strange, contradictions in DIVE ASIA'S given chronology, which I would – as a long term friend of one of the victims, as well as a yachtsmen who circumnavigated Australia, NZ and crossed the Indian ocean twice, as well as a participant of the Similan Tour 17.2.-22.2.09 on this vessel, like to be cleared up:

None of the questions you ask has been addressed in the DA chronology, nor have they anything to do with a chronoly of the event itself. As a participant of a trip on this vessel, it would have made more sense to me if you asked (some) of these questions before your trip and not afterwards.

But still, some of the questions I can answer:

There was no EPIRB, plus I am not sure the Thai Navy or any other rescue ouitfit in the area is equipped to receive EPIRB signals.

There was no distress signal received, because there was no time to send a signal.

The captain was Thai, so I presume he received his captain's certificate in Thailand, probably on Phuket. Sorry, forgot the name of the authority issuing those certifications.

Yes, the vessel was insured. I don't see why anybody apart from the owners would need the conditions to be met to cover eventuelly loss of the vessel.

In Thailand the chances of an internationally recognised investigation are nil.

Thanks, but I do not know your involvement in this issue. Are you a owner, manager, lawyer... to whom I delivered my questions? Why I did not ask SOME of the questions BEFORE our trip, is very easy to answer. Because I did not assume such lack of professionalism from a company with such excellent reputation.

I strongly believe, that the PUBLIC has a RIGHT to receive an answer on all these questions as an assistance making decisions in the future to book with this company or rather not.

Well, I am still waiting for answers from persons in charge.

Edited March 21, 2009 by hadodi

[sbk]

Hadodi, while I can understand your concern regarding this tragic event, I must ask if you have contacted Dive Asia personally yourself and received no response and that is why you are asking here? Or is it that you are just attempting to make some kind of public inquiry without giving the owners' of this business the courtesy of asking them first?

[stevenl]

I strongly believe, that the PUBLIC has a RIGHT to receive an answer on all these questions as an assistance making decisions in the future to book with this company or rather not.

Just ask your questions to Dive Asia I would suggest.

Or if you, the public, think more than just you needs those questions answered, ask them to a local publisher, maybe they agree with you.

Are you a owner, manager, lawyer... to whom I delivered my questions?

I am neither of those, but a dive professional working and living in Phuket. If you want an answer from the company, as mentioned, ask the company in stead of a public forum.

[thaiwanderer]

The design and construction of the boat together with the weather conditions are of course key issues as to ascertaining why the boat sank.

However there seems to be a gap in the timetable of events that is worrying to say the least.

Some of the reports on the timings are vague and conflicting but generally appears to be as follows (if I am missing anything my apologies):-

17.00hrs boat leaves the Similans

22.00hrs Telephone contact with boat - all ok.

22.50hrs boat sinks (approx 12 nautical miles off Patong)

ETA at Chalong 01.00 (Dive Asia CD says this in television interview) or 02.00-04.00hrs.

08.00hrs Dive Asia inform authorities that boat not arrived at Chalong.

So what was happening between supposed ETA and 08.00hrs (especially since the boat was already in range for telephone contact at 22.00hrs)(which depending on the timings was a gap of 7hours or between 6-4hours)? Are we to assume that a decision to inform the authorities was only made upon the dive office itself opening?

Also an emergency signal was not made from the boat (the boat was apparently well equipped, too little time for any kind of distress signal?) nor from the liferafts (lack of equipment? - the fishing boat that recovered them at approx 12.00hrs was signalled by a mirror).

Dive Asia are now suggesting the ETA was 08.00hours?

On their new version of events expected return journey was 14 and 1/2 hours?

[hadodi]

Hadodi, while I can understand your concern regarding this tragic event, I must ask if you have contacted Dive Asia personally yourself and received no response and that is why you are asking here? Or is it that you are just attempting to make some kind of public inquiry without giving the owners' of this business the courtesy of asking them first?

I CERTAINLY did, but not answer. And about the public inquiry: yes, there should be one independent one, or does anybody want to leave scellettons in the closet? I hope not!

[hadodi]

I strongly believe, that the PUBLIC has a RIGHT to receive an answer on all these questions as an assistance making decisions in the future to book with this company or rather not.

Just ask your questions to Dive Asia I would suggest.

Or if you, the public, think more than just you needs those questions answered, ask them to a local publisher, maybe they agree with you.

Are you a owner, manager, lawyer... to whom I delivered my questions?

I am neither of those, but a dive professional working and living in Phuket. If you want an answer from the company, as mentioned, ask the company in stead of a public forum.

My dear friend, as a professional you should agree that there must be an independent investigation in this accident. We do not want to sweep anything under the carpet, do we. Well, I asked the company, but did not receive an answer so far. And a forum is exactly the environment to ask those questions to give potential future victims the chance to be on the safe side.

[stevenl]

Well, I asked the company, but did not receive an answer so far.

And I fully understand that.

My dear friend, as a professional you should agree that there must be an independent investigation in this accident.

Yes, an independent investigation would be more than welcome, but there is no way it will come to any reliable conclusion here in Thailand. IMO though, everybody who thinks the events of the evening through can easily reach the conclusion of what happened.

[bushcutter66]

MARINE police carried five victims of the dive boat sinking to Phuket's Deep Sea Port this afternoon, where the bodies were transferred to ambulances bound for Vachira Hospital in Phuket City and formal identification.

One of the seven people who went missing in a storm that sank MV Dive Asia 1 on Sunday, with 30 on board, remains unaccounted for.

Very sad to hear...