Transport Officials Inspect Ao Por Breakwater

Transport officials inspect Ao Por breakwater

Deputy Transport Minister Kuakul Danchaiwijit at Ao Por Grand Marina on Thursday morning.

The breakwater dampens wave force up to 90%, Ao Por Grand Marina management say.

PHUKET CITY: High-ranking Transport Ministry officials paid a visit to Ao Por Grand Marina on Thursday morning to inspect a new floating breakwater installed on a trial basis at a cost of 10 million baht.

Deputy Transport Minister Kuakul Danchaiwijit, Marine Department Director Chalor Kotcharat and other officials arrived at the marina at about 11am.

Ao Por Grand Marina customer services manager Wirawut Saeton said the breakwater, 360 meters long and 60 meters wide, was installed to protect vessels berthed in the harbor from monsoon-season waves.

Deployed two months ago, the breakwater effectively dampens wave force 80% to 90% and reduces the height of two-meter waves to under one meter, he said.

The structure design is based on existing breakwaters in the US, he said.

Transport ministry officials inspect the structure and assess its impact on the environment over a six-month period, he said.

The Ao Por Grand management advertises the facility itself as ‘Phuket’s Superyacht Marina’.

If permission to keep the breakwater is permanently granted after the trial period, the structure could be extended into an ‘L-shape’, offering even more protection, Mr Wirawut said.

Ao Por Marina managing director Kasim Jirasomboon said the breakwater is anchored to the sea bed in 50 places at depths of around four or five meters. – Atchaa Khamlo and Stephen Michael Fein

-- Phuket Gazette

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