Preliminary investigation shows Krabi ferry fire not caused by careless service

[webfact]

Preliminary investigation shows Krabi ferry fire not caused by careless service

BANGKOK, 21 April 2015 (NNT) – A Deputy Permanent Secretary for Transport says investigations continue to find the cause of a fire of "Ao Nang Princess 5" tourist boat caught fire on 8 April 2015 on its route from Krabi to Phuket.

Speaking at a press conference, Mr Voradej Harnprasert said preliminary investigations showed there was a fire inside the engine room at the boat’s stern while all rescue appliances were enough for all passengers and in a ready-to-use condition including life jackets and extinguishers. Only 115 passengers were on board during the fire, less than the boat’s limit of 215 passengers.

The Marine Department has ordered the boat operator, Ao Nang Travel and Tour Co, to salvage the boat off Krabi's sea bed within 30 days for further investigation.

Deputy Director-General of the Marine Department Nat Chubchai, who was also present at the press conference, said the fire has prompted the Department to enforce stricter maritime safety measures. Maritime laws and regulations are under amendments for better efficiency.

The new laws would apply to all passengers of boats operating at sea and in rivers. All passengers are designated to wear life jackets during the whole trip. Otherwise, the boats are not allowed to go offshore and boat operators will be prosecuted.

For passengers using long-tailed boats in rivers, such as Khlong Saen Saeb Express Boat Service, Chao Phraya Express Boats and Dinner Cruises, they do not need to wear life jackets but boat owners must ensure there are enough jackets or foam sheets for all of them in emergency.


-- NNT 2015-04-21

[zaphod reborn]

How could there not be careless service when a girl was left in a locked bathroom to die? Disgraceful!

[soalbundy]

How could there not be careless service when a girl was left in a locked bathroom to die? Disgraceful!

not careless service, just a lack of it.

[LivinginKata]

How could there not be careless service when a girl was left in a locked bathroom to die? Disgraceful!

not careless service, just a lack of it.

Young 12 year old girl goes to the toilet and locks the door. Toilet is at the back of the boat where the fire starts. Her father tries to save her but cannot. Not careless service, just bad luck that the girl needed the toilet at that particular moment.

[jackanapes]

all passenger boats and ships are now required by law to ensure all services lifebelts etc are provided for all passengers .

[Lee4Life]

How was the investigation carried out that proved the fire was not the result of careless service if the vessel is still at the bottom of the sea?

[Johnny S]

Yeah right ...

[ezzra]

This country is infested with the blaze attitude towards just about anything that need to be taken

seriously, and this is why busses are keeps turning over and other calamities are a daily occurrence

here, she'll be right mate attitude that keeps taking life just about everywhere in this country...

[NanLaew]

The Deputy Permanent Secretary for Transport said the accident wasn't caused by careless service.

I am not NEBOSH or OHSA certified in accident investigations but I am very familiar with basic HSE terminology through over 20 years of working and auditing in the marine environment. I have yet to hear this classification of 'careless service' used anywhere when defining a root cause or even consequential effects of an accident.

Since the boat is still on the seabed, any utterances are either conjecture or 'winging it' and in this instance, the latter is fairly evident. Just because all the fire extinguishers may have been checked within the last few months and there were adequate amounts of lifejackets, it doesn't mean that crew members had received any training on the former or passengers received any instructions on use of the latter.

[LivinginKata]

How was the investigation carried out that proved the fire was not the result of careless service if the vessel is still at the bottom of the sea?

Exactly. How can they deduce that their were enough serviceable fire extinguishers and there were at least 215 serviceable life jackets onboard, when the boat is on the bottom and only 115 passengers got off. Utter nonsense and there needs to be an investgation into why the fire started. I expect due to poor operating/maintenance procedures.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The new laws would apply to all passengers of boats operating at sea and in rivers. All passengers are designated to wear life jackets during the whole trip. Otherwise, the boats are not allowed to go offshore and boat operators will be prosecuted.

More "when pigs will fly" talk from the ir-relevant authorities....

[natway09]

Please, no petrol or gas engines

[evadgib]

all passenger boats and ships are now required by law to ensure all services lifebelts etc are provided for all passengers .

That came in after this fatal accident in 2005:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4204351.stm

......but was flouted to the extent that the same vessel had another accident in 2012:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/seven-aussies-injured-in-thai-full-moon-party-boat-crash/story-e6frg6nf-1225884951433

Edited April 24, 2015 by evadgib