Pattaya ferry captain confesses to drug use

[webfact]

Pattaya ferry captain confesses to drug use

PATTAYA: -- The captain of a ferry that capsized about 1,500 metres offshore from Pattaya on Sunday evening has turned himself in, telling police he was high on drugs while on his duty.

Saman Kwanmuang, 42, turned himself into police on Sunday night, hours after his ferry capsized while returning about 200 Thai and foreign tourists from a day trip to Koh Larn.

Pol Maj Gen Katcha Tatusatra, Chon Buri police chief, said the captain confessed to officers that he took some drugs before going to work, and that he and the crew lost control of the vessel as a result. He allegedly confessed the ferry wandered off course, and hit the rocks, breaching the vessel, punching holes and letting water pour in.

According to a report in Daily News, Mr Saman realised the problem, so he turned off all power so he could try to fix the water pump. He issued no warning to his passengers, supposedly so they would not panic.

However, after 10 minutes, so much water had flowed into the bottom deck of the two-deck boat that passengers had indeed begun to panic. Squabbles broke out, apparently because there were not enough life jackets to go around, the captain allegedly told police.\

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation confirmed on Monday that six people died - three foreigners and three Thais. Another 18 were treated for injuries.

The known victims were identified as Chuchart Chompoonak, 53, Aree Attayoko, 67, Nanthawadee Sopithapong, 44, and To Kin Man, 48. Authorities were still trying to verify the identities of a Russian woman and another foreigner.

Earlier reports of three Russian deaths proved wrong. The Russian embassy in Bangkok said only one Russian, a woman, was confirmed dead.

The injured were taken to Pattaya Memorial Hospital, Bangkok Hospital Pattaya and Banglamung Hospital.

A team of 10 scuba divers sent out by Chon Buri governor Komsan Aekchai on Monday to investigate the sunken ferry reported seeing a crack on the boat's bow. They found no other bodies.

Mr Komsan said the vessel will be salvaged next month.

The Marine Department will investigate the cause of the ferry’s capsizing, but an initial investigation suggested the deaths and injuries stemmed from overloading and insufficient safety equipment, the department’s director-general Sornsak Saensombat said.

The Marine Department has already revoked the captain's licence.

The double-decker ferry sank about 5.30pm on Sunday, shortly after leaving Koh Larn with a full load of passengers heading for Bali Hai Pier in Pattaya. The boat’s water pumps broke down, the vessel was flooded and the engine stopped functioning, he said.

The passengers panicked and moved up to the top deck of the vessel, which then over-balanced, capsized and swiftly sank.


-- Phuket News 2013-11-05

[laurentbkk]

The passengers panicked and moved up to the top deck of the vessel, which then over-balanced, capsized and swiftly sank.

One more time its all the fault of the tourists .... lack of safety regulation and control in a country where the life of others means not much .

[Japhrodisiac]

A boat doesn't sink because it's bilge pumps don't work, it sinks because it is leaking, and they were running the bilge pumps as a band aid fix. when the bilge pumps quit, there was no hiding the problem.

To recap, the boat had a cracked bow, was overloaded, the bilge pumps didn't work, and the captain was high.

Edited November 5, 2013 by Japhrodisiac

[Pattaya28]

"The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation"

This is a department on paper only !

[Pattaya28]

"The captain of a ferry that capsized about 1,500 metres offshore from Pattaya on Sunday evening has turned himself in, telling police he was high on drugs while on his duty".

Now there's a surprise !

[Patje]

Apparently he was so high that he walked over the water to the shore ....

I feel sorry for all passengers .

[cornishcarlos]

No one is blaming the tourists.

The guy has confessed and had his license revoked.

However, because he has confessed I'm sure he will get no more than a slap on the wrist and maybe a 500 baht fine.

Will be driving another boat within the year.

Sad sad sad...

[EyesWideOpen]

A classic look at Thailand behind the scenes.........

[chappie1207]

Completely lost for words....RIP all those who perished, sincere condolences to the families and friends grieving and a speedy recovery to those injured

Oh, one more thing....SUE THE BAS*ARDS DRY!!!!!

[Basil B]

A boat doesn't sink because it's bilge pumps don't work, it sinks because it is leaking, and they were running the bilge pumps as a band aid fix. when the bilge pumps quit, there was no hiding the problem.

To recap, the boat had a cracked bow, was overloaded, the bilge pumps didn't work, and the captain was high.

These types of boat will leek a little that's why they have bilge pumps, but if you ground the boat on rocks they will take on more water than the pumps can cope with.

My question is was it common for this captain boat driver to be under the influence of drugs? were his employers, crew and others in authority aware?

I think it is better to use the description of "Boat Driver" as Thailand chooses not to recognize intentional boat handling certifications that are far superior to any training these boat drivers have to achieve to take charge of these boats.

Edited November 5, 2013 by Basil B

[Djaotchou]

What about the owner of the boat?????

[Anuman]

the captain confessed to officers that he took some drugs before going to work, and that he and the crew lost control of the vessel as a result

Now I understand why my wife was so scared when we took a same boat few years ago All kind of transportation in Thailand are really not safe

[nakhonandy]

A boat doesn't sink because it's bilge pumps don't work, it sinks because it is leaking, and they were running the bilge pumps as a band aid fix. when the bilge pumps quit, there was no hiding the problem.

To recap, the boat had a cracked bow, was overloaded, the bilge pumps didn't work, and the captain was high.

These types of boat will leek a little that's why they have bilge pumps, but if you ground the boat on rocks they will take on more water than the pumps can cope with.

My question is was it common for this captain boat driver to be under the influence of drugs? were his employers, crew and others in authority aware?

I think it is better to use the description of "Boat Driver" as Thailand chooses not to recognize intentional boat handling certifications that are far superior to any training these boat drivers have to achieve to take charge of these boats.

Agree entirely, most of these boat drivers wouldn't make cabin boy anywhere else.

Simple Captains fault together with the ferry company.

[Basil B]

"The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation"

This is a department on paper only !

I think the last word of of the departments name say's it all.

Seems there are may departments responsible for safety when it comes to pay off's (local,Regional & National government bodies) but when the "brown stuff hit the fan" they all disclaim any responsibility and blame everybody else.

[PhilipCook]

Did the police send the captain for drug testing to validate the claim?

[lostmebike]

Oh dear!

You would expect heads to role for this but you know TIT. I just hope the governments of the deceased tourists apply so much pressure that the 'captain' will go away for a long, long time.

And for those of you that were bleeting on about 'this could happen anywhere' on another thread about this incident, you are right, it does and when it happens in other countries, the guilty party feel the full force of the law. Whether Thai justice is about to go 21st century though is another matter completely.

[affen02]

This country is becoming more and more dangerous by the day in so many ways. Time to do a serious rethinking of what to do from here on. LOS has somehow for me lost some of its glory. I feel deeply for the involved in this tragedy.

[Pattaya Pat]

Absolutely shcoking even for this joke of a country. My 2 young daughters could have been on that boat.

I'm not one for over-reacting but this has made me think twice about ever getting on a ferry again here. Why take the risk?

[gk10002000]

news reports on BBC, Al jazeeram channel news asia, had said the ferry was 100 yards from the shore. That seemed kind of odd to me. The posts here had values of 1500 meters. I have taken a similar ferry to Ko larn a few times over the years. I don't worry much about safety because barring a crushing crash, or a sudden capsize, I was completely prepared to jump over the side at a moment's notice. But I am a life guard in my past and still pretty fit and nimble.

Sadly this is one of those incidents that will keep happening more often as more and more tourists and more and more flights, boats, buses etc. are used. Look at that Laos airline crash last month. Likely a bad judegement call to fly in that weather. Just a contributing factor. But I am sure the pilot was under tremendous pressure to keep on schedule or risk being punished, fined, fired etc. Economic pressures, scheduling pressures. Laid back thailand has changed so much in 10 years.

[Balance]

There are no effective liability law here. If the owner of the boat knew that everything he/she owned was on the line, more attention would be paid to counting the number of people on the boat as well as life vests, and more attention would be paid to regular equipment maintenance. Caveat emptor applies to more that the products that are purchased. You choose to get on the ferry, so you are responsible for whatever might happen. Accidents reside in the Karmic realm; they happen and are really no ones fault. And so if the poor human confesses then it is just life going on. No, it does not comport with what we westerners have been taught; but it is what is here, in the country we have chosen to live.

[cloudhopper]

I think it is better to use the description of "Boat Driver" as Thailand chooses not to recognize intentional boat handling certifications that are far superior to any training these boat drivers have to achieve to take charge of these boats.

As the holder of a Thai "Second Class Helmsman of Power Drlver(sic) Sea-going Vessel" license I can only agree.

Edited November 5, 2013 by cloudhopper

[malcyx]

I think the punishment will be severe and deserved, after all 3 thais were amongst the deceased ... RIP..all.

[jaapfries]

A boat doesn't sink because it's bilge pumps don't work, it sinks because it is leaking, and they were running the bilge pumps as a band aid fix. when the bilge pumps quit, there was no hiding the problem.

To recap, the boat had a cracked bow, was overloaded, the bilge pumps didn't work, and the captain was high.

These types of boat will leek a little that's why they have bilge pumps, but if you ground the boat on rocks they will take on more water than the pumps can cope with.

My question is was it common for this captain boat driver to be under the influence of drugs? were his employers, crew and others in authority aware?

I think it is better to use the description of "Boat Driver" as Thailand chooses not to recognize intentional boat handling certifications that are far superior to any training these boat drivers have to achieve to take charge of these boats.

@Basil: I agree with you: these guys who are in charge of boats, here in Thailand, do NOT deserve the title of "Captain", since they have absolutely NO formal training whatsoever. Like most Street-Cops; Traffic-Cops et al, I would love to be present when ANY of these morons would have to sit their (even as low as) an Entry Exam in a country like The Netherlands . . . . . . .

I do a bit of sailing, here in Thailand and I obtained my "Captain's License" - but let me assure you that the "Sailing & Navigation" certificate issued by the Dutch Boy Scouts (actually "Sea-Scouts") is equal to that of a Thai' 4-stripe Boeing-747 Captain in comparison.

The Thai Government must address this issue urgently ! ! !

Edited November 5, 2013 by jaapfries

[Minnehaha]

In the article published in the paper there was a picture of a boat. It looked fairly modern.

When I took the ferry boat from the main pier in Pattaya to the island we got on an old, large, slow boat that looked like it was from WWII. It was made of wood. I remember it taking FOREVER to get to the island. On the way back we got on another similar boat. It's engine failed just 10 minutes from leaving the island, so we were still quite close to the island. Another boat, equally as old, threw us a line and towed us to Pattaya. This return trip took even longer.

Was the boat that sunk one of these, I wonder? Can anyone point to a picture of the boat that sank?

[drdoom6996]

"The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation"

This is a department on paper only !

Sounds like an oxymoron, you know like Thai Democracy, Military Intelligence, or PTP Government Transparency.

[ChoakMyDee]

How many boat drivers, bus drivers, taxi drivers etc. are on drugs? I'm afraid I don't want to know the answer.

[phitsanulokjohn]

Random Drink and drug testing should be made mandatory for all drivers, across all forms of transport within Thailand,and all drivers should have a full understanding of the word ''RESPONSIBILITY''

[drdoom6996]

I think the punishment will be severe and deserved, after all 3 thais were amongst the deceased ... RIP..all.

You may be right as he didn't just stab a tourist on beach road he killed Thai nationals. Like the Red Bull Heir. You mean that kind of punishment?

[brit1984]

Random Drink and drug testing should be made mandatory for all drivers, across all forms of transport within Thailand,and all drivers should have a full understanding of the word ''RESPONSIBILITY''

that would certainly reduce traffic congestion in bangkok

[recycler]

Suspended sentence I would guess....