Speedboat from Koh Tao sinks on its way back to Samui

KOH SAMUI: Yesterday, 12th February, a speedboat carrying 25 Chinese tourists and three boat crew sank on its way back to Samui after completing a day trip to Koh Tao diving and snorkelling.

The boat, owned by In Sea, got in to trouble between Koh Tao and Koh Phangan. Grand Sea Tour and Lomlak boats came to their assistance and rescued the passengers and crew.

Early reports suggest the boat was over loaded with SCUBA diving tanks. More information will be published as it is received.

Source: http://www.samuitimes.com/speedboat-from-koh-tao-sinks-on-its-way-back-to-samui/

-- Samui Times 2016-01-13

I see we didn't even have to wait a day for the next mishap. However, fortunately, there were apparently no deaths this time.

28 people AND dive tanks on a speedboat like that? Wow...seems to have been massively overloaded.

Video of the sinking here. Check out the lady at the back, more worried her handbag gets wet(!)

https://www.facebook.com/kohsamuiinfoblog/videos/vb.141849975930937/926792510770009

one less death trap boat.

glad no one killed.

lets hope the Chinese tell all their friends about their "vacation" in Thailand.

Check out www.farang-deaths.com.

Seems like everyday something happens with tourists on the water.

saw it covered n thai news.. the bottom of the boat was ripped open and a big whole in hull...they hit something

Check out www.farang-deaths.com.

Why ?

3 ply speedboats with 300hp on the back......gotts love the regulations here.....no-one has any idea what is happening!

The captain of the boat was Burmese.

Thank God all were saved and no causalities.

I think it happened too often now. Until the foreign embassies have to give a travel warning. Instead of travelling to any summit PM should take care of his country and stop those irresponsible actions.

saw it covered n thai news.. the bottom of the boat was ripped open and a big whole in hull...they hit something

It could have been a poor fibreglass job. I worked with a guy who one day he was on the lake with his boat and all of a sudden the hull just started to separate. the boat didnot make it back to the dock His boat was way over powered in my opinion..Could have been cheap materials,poor lay up and too much horse power.

28 people AND dive tanks on a speedboat like that? Wow...seems to have been massively overloaded.

Falang think too much.

Not good.

Video of the sinking here. Check out the lady at the back, more worried her handbag gets wet(!)

https://www.facebook.com/kohsamuiinfoblog/videos/vb.141849975930937/926792510770009

Could have had her passport and 100's of K baht in it.

Plus her socks.

Nobody likes wet socks, Bob.

Wonder how many will be diving it tomorrow???

Well........They had not quite completed a day of snorkeling and diving. If they had got back

to shore and delivered the passengers safely then the trip would have been completed.

3 ply speedboats with 300hp on the back......gotts love the regulations here.....no-one has any idea what is happening!

Well the speed boat I went on had 3 x 250hp units.

But as already pointed out could be a number of reasons, boat over loaded, boat hit a submerged object or the hull failed, no doubt all will be apparent when they salvage it.

I doubt it was overloading as we are talking 25 Chinese not 25 Americans

Also if Chinese I doubt many divers if any, mostly snorkellers so not a lot of dive gear...

Did the pilot have a 2nd class shipping license?

But as already pointed out could be a number of reasons, boat over loaded, boat hit a submerged object or the hull failed, no doubt all will be apparent when they salvage it.

I doubt it was overloading as we are talking 25 Chinese not 25 Americans:gigglem:

I read somewhere the boat collided with something in the water.

Well I bet they they would say that, and a good chance they did, a lot of containers floating about under water, but also where was the boat was built? Thailand, or China? and they beach those boats a lot so possibly stressing the hull.

saw it covered n thai news.. the bottom of the boat was ripped open and a big whole in hull...they hit something

It could have been a poor fibreglass job. I worked with a guy who one day he was on the lake with his boat and all of a sudden the hull just started to separate. the boat didnot make it back to the dock His boat was way over powered in my opinion..Could have been cheap materials,poor lay up and too much horse power.

Could have been all three - plus piss poor seamanship

The captain of the boat was Burmese.

they were lucky then....he could not do a runner

The problem is many of these "boat drivers" actually are not very nautically minded, they dont really understand the sea and wave actions and tend to use brute engine force rather than steering the waves. I have been at sea for over 30 years and a fully qualified FRB and seismic workboat coxswain and the only time i got scared on a boat was when going to koh samet several years ago in a speedboat that had about 50% too much power and 50% too little driver skill.

Video of the sinking here. Check out the lady at the back, more worried her handbag gets wet(!)

https://www.facebook.com/kohsamuiinfoblog/videos/vb.141849975930937/926792510770009

Sort of agree, but perhaps it has her passport/spons etc? With the hassle of getting new pp over here, I'd be concerned too??

There ya go, that is one to tell the grand-kids.

Just think if no other boats in the area to rescue them at that time. Then maybe the death toll could have been quite high.

Thailand, world champions at over stuffing anything and everything they can find.

Ever wonder how Thai's can get 20 feet tall of junk stacked in the back of a 4 cylinder pickup truck designed for 500 pounds (1/4 ton?)

The weight of the passengers and gear grossly exceeded the safe allowable limit.

Would Thai's leave dollars on the shore at the expense of sinking the ship?

Of course not.

Not one tourist will get a refund either

Welcome to Thailand!

Until the foreign embassies have to give a travel warning.

The warnings have been there for years, not least because of many previous accidents inc two involving the very same boat in both 2005 & 2012:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4204351.stm (final total was 18)

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2010-06-27/australians-airlifted-to-bangkok-after-boat-crash/189312

This clip described by the uploader as a boat taxi popped up while looking for the above:

https://youtu.be/5RYnIdR5lnw