Explosion on Bangkok boat injures at least 40 passengers

[pstbkk]

The only good thing is they were lucky the explosion was not an hour or so later when the boats are packed solid. Also being near a pier people could be rescued from the water, a few weeks ago a guy who fell into the canal near where I live, people couldn't reach him and there is no life saving equipment along the khlong, though there is on the boats, police divers pulled his body out of the water about an hour later.

What do you mean there is no life saving equipment?

I see many of the piers have several plastic containers with rope

Certainly where I live there is no life saving equipment, either along the footpath or on all of the piers.

No need for life saving equipment in the klongs. Once your head goes under that polluted water you're a goner.

You're wrong. Once I saw a guy diving in canal under that boat to fix something. He has survived

[connda]

Note to self:

Safe modes if transportation in Thailand:

Double decker buses

Any buses

Taxis

Tuk tuks

Trains

Motorcycles

Bicycles
Ferries

BKK Water Taxis

Walk

[Lopchan]

This incident take us back to the question what value the government put on it's citizen's life and safety?

no much as it appears from years of many transport related accidents that claimed the lives of hundred

of thousands dead and injured over the years.... the shoddy conditions and the poor maintenances of most

of the transport modes in this country keeps claiming more lives every day.... why is a boat that ferry

60 people allowed to keep it's gas cylinder unprotected and prone to an explosion? if you find the answer

to that, you will find the answer to the why of many, many of the accidents around Thailand....

If you read the article it clearly states that this company has provided the service for 30 years and this is the first instance of any major type.

It doesn't matter in which country you are, there will always be genuine machinery failures.

I was working on a Tuna boat in the Southern Ocean 200nm from port. The vessel had just bean surveyed by maritime authorities 2 weeks before we headed out.

The raw seawater intake for engine cooling burst and when we attempted to plug the hole, the plug went straight through making the hole (and leak) bigger. We headed back to port with the bilge pump, auxiliary pump and deck hose pumps all trying to keep up with the influx of water, made it back with about 18 inches of free-board! Moral is; You can't see inside every metal part of a vessel for corrosion.

Second time I was working on a brand new (6 months old) oil rig "West Atlas" in the Timor sea. While I was off rotation, a valve blew out whilst drilling a distillate well resulting in a fire which burnt the rig to the waterline. Luckily no-one was killed. Moral: Even new equipment fails sometimes (just think of US et all. manufacturer recalls of products)

So while I agree that Thailand's transport industry sometimes lacks safety regulation, until all the facts are known, it is presumptuous to start pointing the finger at the operator, the maritime survey unit or Thailand in general

[weegee]

This incident take us back to the question what value the government put on it's citizen's life and safety?

no much as it appears from years of many transport related accidents that claimed the lives of hundred

of thousands dead and injured over the years.... the shoddy conditions and the poor maintenances of most

of the transport modes in this country keeps claiming more lives every day.... why is a boat that ferry

60 people allowed to keep it's gas cylinder unprotected and prone to an explosion? if you find the answer

to that, you will find the answer to the why of many, many of the accidents around Thailand....

If you read the article it clearly states that this company has provided the service for 30 years and this is the first instance of any major type.

It doesn't matter in which country you are, there will always be genuine machinery failures.

I was working on a Tuna boat in the Southern Ocean 200nm from port. The vessel had just bean surveyed by maritime authorities 2 weeks before we headed out.

The raw seawater intake for engine cooling burst and when we attempted to plug the hole, the plug went straight through making the hole (and leak) bigger. We headed back to port with the bilge pump, auxiliary pump and deck hose pumps all trying to keep up with the influx of water, made it back with about 18 inches of free-board! Moral is; You can't see inside every metal part of a vessel for corrosion.

Second time I was working on a brand new (6 months old) oil rig "West Atlas" in the Timor sea. While I was off rotation, a valve blew out whilst drilling a distillate well resulting in a fire which burnt the rig to the waterline. Luckily no-one was killed. Moral: Even new equipment fails sometimes (just think of US et all. manufacturer recalls of products)

So while I agree that Thailand's transport industry sometimes lacks safety regulation, until all the facts are known, it is presumptuous to start pointing the finger at the operator, the maritime survey unit or Thailand in general

Have a guess which International Company was running the show.....YEP they sure were...and i dont think the Bill is even paid yet, though i may be wrong, about the bill

[ratcatcher]

Note to self:

Safe modes if transportation in Thailand:

Double decker buses

Any buses

Taxis

Tuk tuks

Trains

Motorcycles

Bicycles

Ferries

BKK Water Taxis

Walk

Then buy a car or fly.

[kennw]

LPG is heavier than air so any leak in connections will flow to the lowest point. A bout using LPG needs special attention to piping generally a pipe within a pipe the cavity between should then be vented to a safe area (overboard etc).

[impulse]

The updated article in the Bangkok Post paints a pretty favorable picture of the reaction, if not the prevention.

The company involved took all their LNG boats out of service immediately, leaving their diesels in service. They've promised compensation for all involved.

They also gave a pretty good explanation of the economics involved in converting 25 of their 72 boats to LNG when oil was over $100/bbl.

Well worth a read. Sorry, no link.

Edited March 5, 2016 by impulse

[tonray]

Call me Nostradamus but I was on one of these boats near the Mall Bangkapi yesterday afternoon, leaning against the huge red engine housing in the middle, a big barrel of fuel with tubes sticking out right in front of me, imagining the carnage if the engine exploded. Had an image of myself floating legless in the water. It was waiting to happen.

The barrels do not contain fuel but lubricant.

[wvavin]

Though an accident but is so much safer than minivan.

[JAS21]

Mr Chavalit admitted he was still confused about how the incident happened. "We have yet to identify the cause. We use LNG, of which the hazards are less than for diesel."

I wouldn't totally agree with him on this ......

But we will change the boats back to diesel ... because it's more dangerous? .... well it is according to his previous statement.....

Me thinks something slightly confusing here .....

Edited March 5, 2016 by JAS21

[petedk]

On the video it looks like there is something already burning at stern when the boat arrives, heavy smoke there is too... Yet people enter the boat... Ignorance certainly wasn't bliss in this instance.

No. The boats often belch out black smoke when mooring.

Pretty suffocating sometimes.

[Lannig]

Black smoke from a LPG engine? quite abnormal I'd say. Not a diesel.

[Lopchan]

This incident take us back to the question what value the government put on it's citizen's life and safety?

no much as it appears from years of many transport related accidents that claimed the lives of hundred

of thousands dead and injured over the years.... the shoddy conditions and the poor maintenances of most

of the transport modes in this country keeps claiming more lives every day.... why is a boat that ferry

60 people allowed to keep it's gas cylinder unprotected and prone to an explosion? if you find the answer

to that, you will find the answer to the why of many, many of the accidents around Thailand....

If you read the article it clearly states that this company has provided the service for 30 years and this is the first instance of any major type.

It doesn't matter in which country you are, there will always be genuine machinery failures.

I was working on a Tuna boat in the Southern Ocean 200nm from port. The vessel had just bean surveyed by maritime authorities 2 weeks before we headed out.

The raw seawater intake for engine cooling burst and when we attempted to plug the hole, the plug went straight through making the hole (and leak) bigger. We headed back to port with the bilge pump, auxiliary pump and deck hose pumps all trying to keep up with the influx of water, made it back with about 18 inches of free-board! Moral is; You can't see inside every metal part of a vessel for corrosion.

Second time I was working on a brand new (6 months old) oil rig "West Atlas" in the Timor sea. While I was off rotation, a valve blew out whilst drilling a distillate well resulting in a fire which burnt the rig to the waterline. Luckily no-one was killed. Moral: Even new equipment fails sometimes (just think of US et all. manufacturer recalls of products)

So while I agree that Thailand's transport industry sometimes lacks safety regulation, until all the facts are known, it is presumptuous to start pointing the finger at the operator, the maritime survey unit or Thailand in general

Have a guess which International Company was running the show.....YEP they sure were...and i dont think the Bill is even paid yet, though i may be wrong, about the bill

Seakill...and there were some glaring omissions left out of the parliamentary report.

[PaullyW]

Blast on Bangkok water taxi injures 60

BANGKOK (AP) — At least 60 passengers were injured early Saturday when the engine of a Bangkok water taxi exploded as the boat approached its dock, police said.

Among the injured were three foreigners, including a Japanese male and two women from Myanmar, according to the city's Erawan medical emergency center. The rest were identified as Thai nationals.

The boat was ferrying about 70 people on an early morning route through the city's canals in a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Bangkok, said police Lt. Col. Chaithanan Jirapiyaset.

He said the explosion occurred as the boat reached the Wat Thepleela Pier, in one of the capital's working-class neighborhood, causing panic that prompted several passengers to jump into the water for safety.

The Erawan center said that at least 60 people were treated for injuries at several of the city's hospitals. There were no reports of deaths.

The boat was one of many commuter vessels that ply the city's canals and waterways. Many of the boats are old and often overcrowded but accidents are not common.

Police said it was not immediately clear what caused the engine to explode.

-- (c) Associated Press 2016-03-05

"Working class neighborhood". As if there is anything else in this dump called Thailand. Not a single consistently nice neighborhood anywhere in the kingdom.

Pretentious nonsense

[RaoulDuke]

Has anyone clarified that this is indeed LNG (methane) and not LPG (propane)? It seems to make more sense that it was LPG, given the storage and transfer of fuel is much easier in LPG systems due to cryogenic temperatures involved in LNG? Fueling any LNG vehicle is very difficult, requiring specialized equipment and training.

LNG is a very problematic fuel source. It is cooled to -162 degrees C in order to be stored in liquid form, which takes up considerably less space than a comparable amount of CNG (which is just LNG in gas form). The problem is that the vacuum-sealed tanks are not perfect insulators, and they often loose vacuum over time. This means that the LNG is constantly boiling off into CNG, which raises the pressure. LNG tanks cannot handle very high pressures like a CNG tank can, so they continuously vent off (especially in a hot atmosphere like BKK).

If there is a leak anywhere in the tank, plumbing (which is not uncommon), or the vent line, the methane will accumulate above the leak (lighter than air). This is why all CNG/LNG vehicles in the USA have a large number of methane sensors placed above the engine and fuel storage areas. LPG vehicles also have sensors installed and leaks are not uncommon.

I would be surprised if this was the case in Bangkok, and I would be even more surprised if the system was actually monitored and functioning properly if it was ever installed. I imagine after a few exploding buses, they will finally get around to enforcing the monitoring of these systems, but one exploding boat will just be swept under the rug.

CNG is an acceptable alternative fuel due to its cleanliness, but it has a very high maintenance cost. Methane is also something like 4x's more potent of a greenhouse gas than CO2, which is a major issue with LNG (as it is constantly being dumped into the atmosphere while being stored and transferred.

[ddavidovsky]

Call me Nostradamus but I was on one of these boats near the Mall Bangkapi yesterday afternoon, leaning against the huge red engine housing in the middle, a big barrel of fuel with tubes sticking out right in front of me, imagining the carnage if the engine exploded. Had an image of myself floating legless in the water. It was waiting to happen.

The barrels do not contain fuel but lubricant.

That's a relief. I think. Hope it's non-flammable.

Those engines must need a lot of lube if they have to carry a whole barrel. Whatever it is, the setup doesn't inspire confidence...

[kingalfred]

I'm sure there are regular safety checks on all forms of public transport in Thailand? Ooops. <deleted> ..

Edited March 6, 2016 by metisdead
Profane acronym removed.

[DavidB4]

It may not have exploded but I was on one a year or so back when the engine failed and then caught fire. Luckily we were at a pier so everyone got off.

I had a similar experience at the dock near Plontip, a fire started under the wood flooring, I called it to their attention, we got off, they put it out, we got back on again and away we went. I've always been amazed that I don't hear about more fires/explosions!

[Shadychris]

This incident take us back to the question what value the government put on it's citizen's life and safety?

no much as it appears from years of many transport related accidents that claimed the lives of hundred

of thousands dead and injured over the years.... the shoddy conditions and the poor maintenances of most

of the transport modes in this country keeps claiming more lives every day.... why is a boat that ferry

60 people allowed to keep it's gas cylinder unprotected and prone to an explosion? if you find the answer

to that, you will find the answer to the why of many, many of the accidents around Thailand....

Blah blah blah

[Time Traveller]

Noisy dangerous boat emitting plumes of black smoke all day long. That's No problem in this 3rd world nation as authrities are too busy focusing all resources to stop those dangerous criminals like the people caught playing bridge or on visa overstay or expressing dislike for the government or pointing out corruption.

In Thailand you don't get to own a boat taxi monopoly without hundreds of millions in bribes to officials. Nothing - not even innocent people being hurt and maimed, or polluting the environment- is going to stand in the way of officials getting rich

Edited March 5, 2016 by Time Traveller

[mauGR1]

This incident take us back to the question what value the government put on it's citizen's life and safety?

no much as it appears from years of many transport related accidents that claimed the lives of hundred

of thousands dead and injured over the years.... the shoddy conditions and the poor maintenances of most

of the transport modes in this country keeps claiming more lives every day.... why is a boat that ferry

60 people allowed to keep it's gas cylinder unprotected and prone to an explosion? if you find the answer

to that, you will find the answer to the why of many, many of the accidents around Thailand....

Blah blah blah

Some people forget that there is an equation between transportation price and transportation safety.. How many people in Thailand would choose to pay twice or thrice to ( hopefully ) improve safety records ? Not that i ever heard of any country where accidents never happen..

Edited March 5, 2016 by mauGR1

[jaywalker]

No need for life saving equipment in the klongs. Once your head goes under that polluted water you're a goner.

You're wrong. Once I saw a guy diving in canal under that boat to fix something. He has survived

Yes, now that you mention it, I have heard of people building up resistance to poisons.

[mango66]

technician have been send 55555555

Criminal Police have to investigate and owner and boat technician to be charged !!

[jacko45k]

I didn't even know any of these boats used LPG. With the number of cars and trucks catching fire due to dodgy conversions I would not wish to board one! They need to be eliminated and diesel only boats used. I understand pollution is a concern but explosions is far more to be worried over.

[halloween]

Has anyone clarified that this is indeed LNG (methane) and not LPG (propane)? It seems to make more sense that it was LPG, given the storage and transfer of fuel is much easier in LPG systems due to cryogenic temperatures involved in LNG? Fueling any LNG vehicle is very difficult, requiring specialized equipment and training.

LNG is a very problematic fuel source. It is cooled to -162 degrees C in order to be stored in liquid form, which takes up considerably less space than a comparable amount of CNG (which is just LNG in gas form). The problem is that the vacuum-sealed tanks are not perfect insulators, and they often loose vacuum over time. This means that the LNG is constantly boiling off into CNG, which raises the pressure. LNG tanks cannot handle very high pressures like a CNG tank can, so they continuously vent off (especially in a hot atmosphere like BKK).

If there is a leak anywhere in the tank, plumbing (which is not uncommon), or the vent line, the methane will accumulate above the leak (lighter than air). This is why all CNG/LNG vehicles in the USA have a large number of methane sensors placed above the engine and fuel storage areas. LPG vehicles also have sensors installed and leaks are not uncommon.

I would be surprised if this was the case in Bangkok, and I would be even more surprised if the system was actually monitored and functioning properly if it was ever installed. I imagine after a few exploding buses, they will finally get around to enforcing the monitoring of these systems, but one exploding boat will just be swept under the rug.

CNG is an acceptable alternative fuel due to its cleanliness, but it has a very high maintenance cost. Methane is also something like 4x's more potent of a greenhouse gas than CO2, which is a major issue with LNG (as it is constantly being dumped into the atmosphere while being stored and transferred.

I have to wonder if the "major issue" of methane losses in handling is comparable to the volume produced in herbivores farts? I did see a proposal that all ruminants should be fitted with pilot lights, but assumed it was a joke.

[DrTuner]

And the last maintenance service was .. 30 years ago?

[monkey4u]

"The company executive Chavalit Maetayaprapas said the boat service will continue as usual and was not disrupted by the explosion."

Good idea Chavalit, don't take the other boats out of service to at least inspect to see if there are others with the potential to explode. Gotta keep collecting those 11 baht fares.

If it don't go bang

Why fix it ???

From a Thai workshop manual

[Thian]

Thai don't give a dime about safety, those passenger boats also are overloaded all the time.

Quality tourists allready know this and go to Singapore, Tokyo, Australia.....mai ben rai....

[otherstuff1957]

I didn't even know any of these boats used LPG. With the number of cars and trucks catching fire due to dodgy conversions I would not wish to board one! They need to be eliminated and diesel only boats used. I understand pollution is a concern but explosions is far more to be worried over.

I doubt if pollution is the concern, more likely cost. CNG or LPG is much cheaper than diesel fuel. As far as I know, LPG and CNG powered engines are illegal for marine applications in the West. Certainly in forty + years of messing about with boats I have never seen a boat powered by anything other than diesel or gasoline.

All of the canal boats that I have ridden on (and I used to commute on the KSS regularly) had big barrels of diesel fuel in the middle of the boat that were plumbed directly to the engine. While this could certainly look alarming, the chance of explosion from those tanks would be almost zero. Diesel does not burn easily and you could throw lighted matches into a puddle of spilled diesel without any result.

[ddavidovsky]

At the Wat Sri Boonruang terminus there are two large silos clearly marked Liquid Natural Gas and you can watch the boats being filled (the area is quite picturesque). I would assume all the boats at this depot (about 60 of them) are using LNG. Don't know if there is another depot elsewhere using diesel.

As to the barrel in the middle of each boat - so is it lubricant or diesel? In any case I'm probably going to be avoiding the engine area in future.