Samui residents enraged by ferry smog

[smotherb]

Just how old are these ferries? Late 18 hundreds??? Replace them with modern ferries with more environmentally friendly engines.

What a great idea, now all you have to do is come up with HOW is it going to be done. Oh yes, just buy new ones and train all the workers to properly perform their duties.

[monkeycountry]

A friend of mine who runs boat tours once noticed an engine part was almost broken. He asked the crew to buy a replacement. Eventually the engine broke down during a tour and he asked if they had bought the replacement item? They had, and now they would use it to fix the engine.

It took a few hours, and all the customers got their money back!

[BusyBee123]

I'm more peed off by the diving companies who feel it is ok to have a toilet to the sea on their boats , went diving and ended up swimming in turd so a few ferry fumes won't kill me but a turd may make me very ill. Sort it out dive masters

[limbos]

All dive boats in the Samui archipelago have marine toilets and during each boat briefing, every day, it's mentioned that only # 1 is acceptable when parked over a dive site. If one or more persons on the bat still decide to break that 'rule', it's hardly something a divemaster or dive company can be accountable for.

On the up side, a turd is biodegradable but that nasty ferry fume may actually kill you in the (very) long run.

[evadgib]

A no 1 can become a no 2 quite quickly in this part of the world, particularly among tourists who aren't yet acclimatized!

Edited September 22, 2013 by evadgib

[limbos]

A no 1 can become a no 2 quite quickly in this part of the world, particularly among tourists who aren't yet acclimatized!

Still no reason to blame a divemaster or dive company for, as Busybee suggested. In this part of the world, the majority of dive boats will either have a marine toilet or no toilet at all, when the boat rides are not as far away as they in general are in Thailand.

Edited September 22, 2013 by limbos

[monkeycountry]

All dive boats in the Samui archipelago have marine toilets and during each boat briefing, every day, it's mentioned that only # 1 is acceptable when parked over a dive site. If one or more persons on the bat still decide to break that 'rule', it's hardly something a divemaster or dive company can be accountable for.

On the up side, a turd is biodegradable but that nasty ferry fume may actually kill you in the (very) long run.

perhaps it is time to get real toilets on the boats, the kind that stores the waste till you get back to the pier so it can be emptied at a tank or similar there?

[monkeycountry]

A no 1 can become a no 2 quite quickly in this part of the world, particularly among tourists who aren't yet acclimatized!

Still no reason to blame a divemaster or dive company for, as Busybee suggested. In this part of the world, the majority of dive boats will either have a marine toilet or no toilet at all, when the boat rides are not as far away as they in general are in Thailand.

Since the tour owner knows it is going to happen, you can blame him for not having proper facilities on board.

[pokerspiv]

Just how old are these ferries? Late 18 hundreds??? Replace them with modern ferries with more environmentally friendly engines.

I'm sure they will get right on that as soon as your 300 million baht donation hits their bank account.

Edited September 22, 2013 by pokerspiv

[limbos]

A no 1 can become a no 2 quite quickly in this part of the world, particularly among tourists who aren't yet acclimatized!

Still no reason to blame a divemaster or dive company for, as Busybee suggested. In this part of the world, the majority of dive boats will either have a marine toilet or no toilet at all, when the boat rides are not as far away as they in general are in Thailand.

Since the tour owner knows it is going to happen, you can blame him for not having proper facilities on board.

Who says the owner knows it's going to happen, there's a very clear briefing each morning. If your fellow passengers don't /can't hold their guns, blame them, not a tour/dive operator. Maybe I missed something?

On the other hand, whilst you're at it when you're changing the whole region into having to use different toilets on their day trip boats, maybe, if you possibly can spare a minute, would it be asked too much if you can also spend some time on more pressing matters, like road safety?

[Rooo]

A no 1 can become a no 2 quite quickly in this part of the world, particularly among tourists who aren't yet acclimatized!

Still no reason to blame a divemaster or dive company for, as Busybee suggested. In this part of the world, the majority of dive boats will either have a marine toilet or no toilet at all, when the boat rides are not as far away as they in general are in Thailand.

Since the tour owner knows it is going to happen, you can blame him for not having proper facilities on board.

Who says the owner knows it's going to happen, there's a very clear briefing each morning. If your fellow passengers don't /can't hold their guns, blame them, not a tour/dive operator. Maybe I missed something?

On the other hand, whilst you're at it when you're changing the whole region into having to use different toilets on their day trip boats, maybe, if you possibly can spare a minute, would it be asked too much if you can also spend some time on more pressing matters, like road safety?

Honestly Limbos, the least they can provide a marine toilet that can be treated & emptied afterwards.

These are people that profit from a business, at least try & look after the environment & their customers.

No matter how you look at it, they are contributing to pollution, no need to bury our head in the sand.

[monkeycountry]

A no 1 can become a no 2 quite quickly in this part of the world, particularly among tourists who aren't yet acclimatized!

Still no reason to blame a divemaster or dive company for, as Busybee suggested. In this part of the world, the majority of dive boats will either have a marine toilet or no toilet at all, when the boat rides are not as far away as they in general are in Thailand.

Since the tour owner knows it is going to happen, you can blame him for not having proper facilities on board.

Who says the owner knows it's going to happen, there's a very clear briefing each morning. If your fellow passengers don't /can't hold their guns, blame them, not a tour/dive operator. Maybe I missed something?

On the other hand, whilst you're at it when you're changing the whole region into having to use different toilets on their day trip boats, maybe, if you possibly can spare a minute, would it be asked too much if you can also spend some time on more pressing matters, like road safety?

It is a silly argument. What do you suggest people do if they are stuck on a boat and have to do #2?

Having a briefing that people are not allowed to do #2 for an extended period of time is about as silly as having a briefing telling them not to breathe. You cannot make rules to stop basic bodily functions. Do you tell them not to puke if they get seasick too? :-)

Claiming that the operator is unaware that his passengers use the toilet for #2 is ridiculous. If you put 10-20 people on a boat for half a day or a full day, then it is almost guaranteed that some of them need to use the toilet for #2.

The operator can do as most people do around here, and simply neglect his responsibilities, but he could at least admit doing so, instead of pretending to be clueless :-)

Edited September 22, 2013 by monkeycountry

[limbos]

Sorry, let me clarify that, no #2 when over a dive site, when the boat is moving no problem at all. That obviously caused confusion for not clarifying that.

[limbos]

Honestly Limbos, the least they can provide a marine toilet that can be treated & emptied afterwards.

A no 1 can become a no 2 quite quickly in this part of the world, particularly among tourists who aren't yet acclimatized!

Still no reason to blame a divemaster or dive company for, as Busybee suggested. In this part of the world, the majority of dive boats will either have a marine toilet or no toilet at all, when the boat rides are not as far away as they in general are in Thailand.

Since the tour owner knows it is going to happen, you can blame him for not having proper facilities on board.

Who says the owner knows it's going to happen, there's a very clear briefing each morning. If your fellow passengers don't /can't hold their guns, blame them, not a tour/dive operator. Maybe I missed something?

On the other hand, whilst you're at it when you're changing the whole region into having to use different toilets on their day trip boats, maybe, if you possibly can spare a minute, would it be asked too much if you can also spend some time on more pressing matters, like road safety?

These are people that profit from a business, at least try & look after the environment & their customers.

No matter how you look at it, they are contributing to pollution, no need to bury our head in the sand.

Something went wrong with the lay out of this post, hence my answer to Rooo in red;

In all my years working in the dive industry all over SE Asia, I've rarely seen toilets the way you describe them Rooo. It would be an interesting challenge to get to change this. What kind of toilets do you think all those fishing boats have? What relation fishing boats vs dive/day trip boats will there be? Not an easy task.

Edited September 23, 2013 by limbos

[monkeycountry]

Honestly Limbos, the least they can provide a marine toilet that can be treated & emptied afterwards.

A no 1 can become a no 2 quite quickly in this part of the world, particularly among tourists who aren't yet acclimatized!

Still no reason to blame a divemaster or dive company for, as Busybee suggested. In this part of the world, the majority of dive boats will either have a marine toilet or no toilet at all, when the boat rides are not as far away as they in general are in Thailand.

Since the tour owner knows it is going to happen, you can blame him for not having proper facilities on board.

Who says the owner knows it's going to happen, there's a very clear briefing each morning. If your fellow passengers don't /can't hold their guns, blame them, not a tour/dive operator. Maybe I missed something?

On the other hand, whilst you're at it when you're changing the whole region into having to use different toilets on their day trip boats, maybe, if you possibly can spare a minute, would it be asked too much if you can also spend some time on more pressing matters, like road safety?

These are people that profit from a business, at least try & look after the environment & their customers.

No matter how you look at it, they are contributing to pollution, no need to bury our head in the sand.

Something went wrong with the lay out of this post, hence my answer to Rooo in red;

In all my years working in the dive industry all over SE Asia, I've rarely seen toilets the way you describe them Rooo. It would be an interesting challenge to get to change this. What kind of toilets do you think all those fishing boats have? What relation fishing boats vs dive/day trip boats will there be? Not an easy task.

I agree, proper toilets are probably rare in SEA, yet they are standard on boats in the west, and probably for a reason, so it is possible. In some countries it is illegal with toilets that empty directly into the sea. It is the same with cars (and ferries) with black smoke, they are common here, yet rare in most western countries, partly because in many western countries the police would fine you for not fixing your car, while here noone cares. Edited September 23, 2013 by monkeycountry

[Rooo]

There are laws about emission in Thailand. Seen many trucks getting pulled over on the way to BKK for belching out black smoke.

Also yes you can get the porta loo's for small boats, you add a liquefying liquid to them, which you then just pour into a conventional toilet , no smell. As for bigger boats, yes where I come from no direct discharge, but they get pumped out.

All goes hand in hand for a greener Samui as they advertise.

[John 1]

There are laws about emission in Thailand. Seen many trucks getting pulled over on the way to BKK for belching out black smoke.

Also yes you can get the porta loo's for small boats, you add a liquefying liquid to them, which you then just pour into a conventional toilet , no smell. As for bigger boats, yes where I come from no direct discharge, but they get pumped out.

download.jpg images.jpg

All goes hand in hand for a greener Samui as they advertise.

This will make Samui greener bringing all the turd;s back and pumping into the bush as I've seen no system on Samui to accept sewerage is there one?

[canman]

Where do you guys think all the fish and other marine life do their 1s & 2s?

[pokerspiv]

The reason you are required to have chemical toilets in western countries isn't for the sea, it's for when your boat is parked in the marina, which is most of the time.

Once out at sea you can shit in a bucket and throw it over the side if you want. There is no law against it.