Another speedboat mishap leaves 30 injured off Samet Island

[rooster59]

Another speedboat mishap leaves 30 injured off Samet Island

KOH SAMET: About 30 tourists were injured after a speedboat rammed at a transport boat anchoring about 300 metres off Samet Island in Rating province before dawn Sunday.

The incident that involved speedboat happened at about 2.30 am while a speedboat with about 30 tourists were heading for the mainland but unexpectedly crashed into the boat anchoring off the Samet Island.

The boat was said to transport musical instruments of musical bands taking part in a convert on Samet Island.

Initial report said no tourist was missing but 30 were rescued and were injured. All were later admitted to Rayong, Sri Rayong and Krungthep Rayong hospitals.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/content/166052

-- Thai PBS 2016-06-05

[Pattaya28]

At 2.30 AM ?

[lonewolf99]

Again flawed reporting...time, place, at a convert ?, tourist invloved or not.

A report should be accurate before being published or it could lead to people thinking another speed boat tragedy has happened ......

and we don't want that do we ??? has this story got the makings of a cover up ?

the words speedboat and the number 30 ...in my head always says overloaded.

Speedboats should only have "several" people onboard and should not be used as a form of public transport.

Especially the design of boat here...the driver can't see where the hell he is going with the engines trimmed to have the Bow about 4 feet above his forward eyeline, obscuring vision in a 15 degree sector of the direction he is going and always flat out fast as possible...how nuts is that ?

[clockman]

Accidents waiting to happen!

[steve73]

They really have no idea do they...

"About 30" were on the boat, and they rescued 30 victims - all of which appear to have been injured... Yet they claim no one is missing....

How can they be so sure?

[Wilsonandson]

About 30 tourists returning from the concert were injured. Witnesses say moored boat they hit didn’t have any lights.

[Wilsonandson]

[thairay]

Fine construction is evident in the photos

[ChrisY1]

Plywood junk.....as the photos show, the slightest bump and these traps can and do sink......

But this, is no doubt, is an isolated incident and tourists are safe.

[gyrosman]

MAYBE IF THERE WAS SUCH A THING AS A COAST GUARD SYSTEM hum. boating safety in THAILAND.

[Peterphuket]

"Witnesses say moored boat they hit didn’t have any lights"

It's normal in LOS, so what's the problem.

It also happens to me more then once in the Pang Nga bay, when there is moonlight, no problem, but if it is cloudy.....

[Ulic]

Again flawed reporting...time, place, at a convert ?, tourist invloved or not.

A report should be accurate before being published or it could lead to people thinking another speed boat tragedy has happened ......

and we don't want that do we ??? has this story got the makings of a cover up ?

the words speedboat and the number 30 ...in my head always says overloaded.

Speedboats should only have "several" people onboard and should not be used as a form of public transport.

Especially the design of boat here...the driver can't see where the hell he is going with the engines trimmed to have the Bow about 4 feet above his forward eyeline, obscuring vision in a 15 degree sector of the direction he is going and always flat out fast as possible...how nuts is that ?

OK,OK, they meant to say "concert" not "convert". You have to read between the lines a little.

Anchored boats are supposed to display at anchor lights so they can be seen by boats under weigh.

Speed boats here are everything other than ferries, they are not high speed "Cigarette" drug

running boats of Miami/ the Caribbean.

[Evilbaz]

What about a headlight on the speedboat at 2,30 am?

[Khun Paul]

Bad seamanship and lack of care by the speedboats Captain. says it all really.

[Basil B]

May be the anchored boat was at fault for having no lights, but if the boat was at anchor then it must have been close to the shore, the boat captain driver should have been going no faster than what it is safe to do so with the prevailing visibility, there are a lot of things out there that do not have lights.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Basil B

[Basil B]

What about a headlight on the speedboat at 2,30 am?

Not needed, other boats have lights...

[Usual Suspect]

How long will it be before the cost of getting travel insurance for a holiday here goes up & future tourists maybe look elsewhere..?

(Insurance companies must have staff assessing total number of claims here per year).

I wish all the injured on this boat a speedy recovery, & wait for the captain's pitiful excuse.

[lvr181]

How long will it be before the cost of getting travel insurance for a holiday here goes up & future tourists maybe look elsewhere..?

(Insurance companies must have staff assessing total number of claims here per year).

I wish all the injured on this boat a speedy recovery, & wait for the captain's pitiful excuse.

The good news is that the driver did not run away! Not because he did not want to, only because he could not do so.

Hope a speedy recovery for all those injured and a huge compensation payout by the driver and/or owner of the speedboat.

[orchidlady]

Other newspaper reporting 1 person had brain hemmorhage, 3 people needed brain surgery and many with broken facial bones, etc.

[tuanku]

Overpowered in the engine department, underpowered in the brain department.

Flat out in the dark with no lights, by the time he saw the parked boat it was too late to avoid it.

And it does take a certain lack of self preservation to put yourself there as a passenger on an unlit speedboat in the middle of the night when there is a high possibility that recreational mind altering substances may have been consumed by the boat crew.

You might, if you were harsh, say the passengers deserved what they got, except no-one deserves a severe head injury, even if they haven't been properly using their brain.

[atyclb]

likely the boat driver did not yet hear the PM message telling all thai's to use their brains and intellect........ hmmmmm, or perhaps he did

[Fookhaht]

Another Sea Cowboy's steed bites the dust, dragging victims down with him.

[lonewolf99]

You can see in the photos, the construction method of these vessels are very poor.

A colleague of mine living on Samui, bought one of these boats about 7 years ago. He paid what I thought was a huge sum, 1.5 million bhat.

Probably the foreigner price.

It was then that I looked closer into how they are made. It is supposed to be "Marine Ply" covered in a fibreglass water proof gel. Then some paint.

If there is even the slightest crack in the gel coat, especially at the seams, the water seaping in starts to turn the wood to mush as it has little chance to dry out.

The support trusses are probably a soft wood as well increasing the chances of all this rotting fast.

So, I am guessing here ? but I might now understand why these types of boats are always pulled out of the water at the end of the day and parked up... they are basically drying them out and extending the life of the boat. If such a boat were left in the water they would probably sink in a matter of a few weeks.

In my Thai GF's village a man makes the traditional canoe you see at floating markets. They are made of hardwood and the locals keep them submerged when not in use, so that the wood does not dry out and the seams stay tight.

The bottom line is these speedboats are not fit for purpose.

Maybe there is a Marine Architect out in TV land that knows more about this ?

[tomyumchai]

what kind of idiot would travel at ( i read 1:40am elsewhere) night in a boat driven by a moron? would you travel on a bus at night with no lights on,on a pitch black road with no markings?

[atsiii]

Again flawed reporting...time, place, at a convert ?, tourist invloved or not.

A report should be accurate before being published or it could lead to people thinking another speed boat tragedy has happened ......

and we don't want that do we ??? has this story got the makings of a cover up ?

the words speedboat and the number 30 ...in my head always says overloaded.

Speedboats should only have "several" people onboard and should not be used as a form of public transport.

Especially the design of boat here...the driver can't see where the hell he is going with the engines trimmed to have the Bow about 4 feet above his forward eyeline, obscuring vision in a 15 degree sector of the direction he is going and always flat out fast as possible...how nuts is that ?

Well, no. The speedboats that service Koh Mak, for example (Panan, Leelawadee, Seatales, etc.), are all three engine boats designed to carry 30 to 50 passengers. So a 'speedboat' accident with 30 people is not at all unreasonable or even, sadly, unusual.