Tour ferries allowed to sail as storm lashes Phuket
Tanyaluk Sakoot


Tourists heading out to Phi Phi and Koh Racha islands can still take the larger ferries, despite the weather warning. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

PHUKET: -- Large ferries carrying tourists are still permitted to travel to Phi Phi and other major tourist islands until further notice, the Phuket Marine Office has confirmed.

The confirmation comes as heavy rains lashed the island today (Sept 16), as the fallout from tropical storm Vamco making landfall in Vietnam whipped waves up to three metres tall in the Andaman region.

While all boats less than 10 metres long are banned from taking to deep waters off Phuket, they are permitted to make short journeys to nearby islands, a Marine official told The Phuket News.

“Small boats are not permitted to make journeys from Phuket to distant islands, such as Phu Phi or Koh Racha,” he said.

“But they are permitted to take tourists to islands that are closer, such as Koh Lone, Coral Island and other nearby islands in Phang Nga Bay.”

“Most longtail trips are not too far,” the officer said. “If it is only a short journey, then it is still allowed. Just be careful.”

The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) tday issued another weather advisory, forecasting heavy to very heavy rain in Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun.

Southwesterly winds gusting up to 40kmh are expected to create waves of up to three meters in thundershower areas.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/tour-ferries-allowed-to-sail-as-storm-lashes-phuket-54131.php

-- Phuket News 2015-09-16

“Most longtail trips are not too far,” the officer said. “If it is only a short journey, then it is still allowed. Just be careful.”

Dont know if I should laugh or cry but safety in Thailand is def not existing ...

Rather unbelievable with the weather we had today! Public safety seems to be a lost concept in the Phuket Marine Office. No big surprise though with their actions over the years. Always putting boat operators profits over those who pay to ride them's safety, putting parasailing boats operators above tourists that get struck by their propellers and of course jet ski operators before beach goers.

up to you tourist! you never been here before. think you can make that swim? pay first.

just be careful while you drown.

It's quite unfathomable (thought I'd be nautical) as to how a boat passenger can 'be careful' out on the sea. Best not to pick a fight with Mother Nature in the first place.

Rather unbelievable with the weather we had today! Public safety seems to be a lost concept in the Phuket Marine Office. No big surprise though with their actions over the years. Always putting boat operators profits over those who pay to ride them's safety, putting parasailing boats operators above tourists that get struck by their propellers and of course jet ski operators before beach goers.

Safety wise both measures make sense.

Small boats can easily reach places like Koh Bon and Coral Island, no issues at all there. And that is where many of the trips are going.

Bigger boats can reach Racha Yai without any problems.

So both a destination limit and a size limit make sense to me. Now will it have been comfortable yesterday? Not at all, we cancelled our trips till Friday to be sure our guests have an enjoyable experience.

In phuket now and looking at sea you gotta be crazy to go out there . Thai safety rules should have its own definition in the dictionary!

Rather unbelievable with the weather we had today! Public safety seems to be a lost concept in the Phuket Marine Office. No big surprise though with their actions over the years. Always putting boat operators profits over those who pay to ride them's safety, putting parasailing boats operators above tourists that get struck by their propellers and of course jet ski operators before beach goers.

Safety wise both measures make sense.

Small boats can easily reach places like Koh Bon and Coral Island, no issues at all there. And that is where many of the trips are going.

Bigger boats can reach Racha Yai without any problems.

So both a destination limit and a size limit make sense to me. Now will it have been comfortable yesterday? Not at all, we cancelled our trips till Friday to be sure our guests have an enjoyable experience.

In a longtail? While I agree with you, your passengers may not have been comfortable, especially if the boat sank, like so many times before…

Rather unbelievable with the weather we had today! Public safety seems to be a lost concept in the Phuket Marine Office. No big surprise though with their actions over the years. Always putting boat operators profits over those who pay to ride them's safety, putting parasailing boats operators above tourists that get struck by their propellers and of course jet ski operators before beach goers.

Safety wise both measures make sense.

Small boats can easily reach places like Koh Bon and Coral Island, no issues at all there. And that is where many of the trips are going.

Bigger boats can reach Racha Yai without any problems.

So both a destination limit and a size limit make sense to me. Now will it have been comfortable yesterday? Not at all, we cancelled our trips till Friday to be sure our guests have an enjoyable experience.

In a longtail? While I agree with you, your passengers may not have been comfortable, especially if the boat sank, like so many times before…

Sorry, I don't understand your post. As I said, we cancelled our trips since it would not have been comfortable to go to Racha Yai yesterday, and only bigger boats would have been able to reach Racha Yai safely.

On my first visit to Surat Thani I saw boats loading they even had a 4X4 across the bow of one boat that looked very overloaded it had no life rings and I could see no safety equipment there was a number of western tourists waiting to get a boat I pointed out the fact that this looked unsafe but they where not worried. Having been captain of a tour boat in Europe I found it most disturbing but I soon came to see that this was the norm in Thailand. Not much has changed over the years.

Waves up to 3 meters high and best official advice is " be careful " ?

I just watched a sailing boat going to a trip to Phanga Bay. There is no big waves, but with the sudden wind gusts and heavy rains, the trip might not be very pleasant one.

Rather unbelievable with the weather we had today! Public safety seems to be a lost concept in the Phuket Marine Office. No big surprise though with their actions over the years. Always putting boat operators profits over those who pay to ride them's safety, putting parasailing boats operators above tourists that get struck by their propellers and of course jet ski operators before beach goers.

Safety wise both measures make sense.

Small boats can easily reach places like Koh Bon and Coral Island, no issues at all there. And that is where many of the trips are going.

Bigger boats can reach Racha Yai without any problems.

So both a destination limit and a size limit make sense to me. Now will it have been comfortable yesterday? Not at all, we cancelled our trips till Friday to be sure our guests have an enjoyable experience.

In a longtail? While I agree with you, your passengers may not have been comfortable, especially if the boat sank, like so many times before…

Sorry, I don't understand your post. As I said, we cancelled our trips since it would not have been comfortable to go to Racha Yai yesterday, and only bigger boats would have been able to reach Racha Yai safely.

I don't know how long you've lived around here, but I've read about too many boats, including live aboard dive boats, speed boats and long tail boats whose owners and "captains" have ignored the weather conditions and passenger safety and have sunk their boats in conditions like we just had and many people have died. The Phuket Marine Office in my opinion doesn't care about passenger safety, they care more about your profits it would seem… Understand now?

I just watched a sailing boat going to a trip to Phanga Bay. There is no big waves, but with the sudden wind gusts and heavy rains, the trip might not be very pleasant one.

As we use to say in yacht racing, it's a bit like taking a cold saltwater shower while ripping up hundred dollar bills! At least the water is a bit warmer here than in the Pacific Ocean along the California coast, but it's also a bit saltier!

Safety wise both measures make sense.

Small boats can easily reach places like Koh Bon and Coral Island, no issues at all there. And that is where many of the trips are going.

Bigger boats can reach Racha Yai without any problems.

So both a destination limit and a size limit make sense to me. Now will it have been comfortable yesterday? Not at all, we cancelled our trips till Friday to be sure our guests have an enjoyable experience.

In a longtail? While I agree with you, your passengers may not have been comfortable, especially if the boat sank, like so many times before…

Sorry, I don't understand your post. As I said, we cancelled our trips since it would not have been comfortable to go to Racha Yai yesterday, and only bigger boats would have been able to reach Racha Yai safely.

I don't know how long you've lived around here, but I've read about too many boats, including live aboard dive boats, speed boats and long tail boats whose owners and "captains" have ignored the weather conditions and passenger safety and have sunk their boats in conditions like we just had and many people have died. The Phuket Marine Office in my opinion doesn't care about passenger safety, they care more about your profits it would seem… Understand now?

Sorry, no.

I specifically said we cancelled, and you write 'while I agree with you, your passengers may not have been comfortable', to continue about boats sinking. You're connecting 'comfort' with 'sinking' where there clearly is no connection. Especially not since we cancelled even though safety was not an issue.

On top of that, you now make a connection between the marine office and our profits? Right after I said we cancelled because of comfort?

In a longtail? While I agree with you, your passengers may not have been comfortable, especially if the boat sank, like so many times before…

Sorry, I don't understand your post. As I said, we cancelled our trips since it would not have been comfortable to go to Racha Yai yesterday, and only bigger boats would have been able to reach Racha Yai safely.

I don't know how long you've lived around here, but I've read about too many boats, including live aboard dive boats, speed boats and long tail boats whose owners and "captains" have ignored the weather conditions and passenger safety and have sunk their boats in conditions like we just had and many people have died. The Phuket Marine Office in my opinion doesn't care about passenger safety, they care more about your profits it would seem… Understand now?

Sorry, no.

I specifically said we cancelled, and you write 'while I agree with you, your passengers may not have been comfortable', to continue about boats sinking. You're connecting 'comfort' with 'sinking' where there clearly is no connection. Especially not since we cancelled even though safety was not an issue.

On top of that, you now make a connection between the marine office and our profits? Right after I said we cancelled because of comfort?

I'm guessing English is not your first language? Maybe your company cares but many others do not care about passenger safety… They care about profit. Who the heck wants to go diving in this weather?

Sorry, I don't understand your post. As I said, we cancelled our trips since it would not have been comfortable to go to Racha Yai yesterday, and only bigger boats would have been able to reach Racha Yai safely.

I don't know how long you've lived around here, but I've read about too many boats, including live aboard dive boats, speed boats and long tail boats whose owners and "captains" have ignored the weather conditions and passenger safety and have sunk their boats in conditions like we just had and many people have died. The Phuket Marine Office in my opinion doesn't care about passenger safety, they care more about your profits it would seem… Understand now?

Sorry, no.

I specifically said we cancelled, and you write 'while I agree with you, your passengers may not have been comfortable', to continue about boats sinking. You're connecting 'comfort' with 'sinking' where there clearly is no connection. Especially not since we cancelled even though safety was not an issue.

On top of that, you now make a connection between the marine office and our profits? Right after I said we cancelled because of comfort?

I'm guessing English is not your first language? Maybe your company cares but many others do not care about passenger safety… They care about profit. Who the heck wants to go diving in this weather?

Glad to see that you have reached the conclusion that we care for our guests. Now next time while making general statements, please don't make references to us. On these trips comfort is compromised before safety, and we care for both comfort and safety.

]

I don't know how long you've lived around here, but I've read about too many boats, including live aboard dive boats, speed boats and long tail boats whose owners and "captains" have ignored the weather conditions and passenger safety and have sunk their boats in conditions like we just had and many people have died. The Phuket Marine Office in my opinion doesn't care about passenger safety, they care more about your profits it would seem… Understand now?

Sorry, no.

I specifically said we cancelled, and you write 'while I agree with you, your passengers may not have been comfortable', to continue about boats sinking. You're connecting 'comfort' with 'sinking' where there clearly is no connection. Especially not since we cancelled even though safety was not an issue.

On top of that, you now make a connection between the marine office and our profits? Right after I said we cancelled because of comfort?

I'm guessing English is not your first language? Maybe your company cares but many others do not care about passenger safety… They care about profit. Who the heck wants to go diving in this weather?

Glad to see that you have reached the conclusion that we care for our guests. Now next time while making general statements, please don't make references to us. On these trips comfort is compromised before safety, and we care for both comfort and safety.

Pfft! LOL! If you care to read what I said in the first place, it was about long tails boats, but for some reason you took offense to what I was saying about the Phuket Marine Office who could care less about passenger comfort or safety. Good luck with your business. Diving was decent here years ago. not so much now, IMHO.