LOB Sinks at Koh Ta Chai

[Zippsy]

Freak storm?
____________________

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/All-safe-after-dive-boat-sinks-in-Similan-National-Park-freak-storm-20799.html

"PHUKET: A dive boat with 30 people on board sank today in the Similan National Park after being caught in a freak storm about four miles off Koh Ta Chai.

All passengers and staff were immediately and safely evacuated from the boat after the captain and tour leader launched an emergency raft, Stefan Kaesweber of Khao Lak Scuba Adventures told the Phuket Gazette this evening.

Fishing vessels in the area quickly rescued passengers and staff from the emergency raft, bringing them to one of the dive boat’s sister ships.

The Royal Thai Navy is sending out a boat to assist those still in the area and bring the 20 passengers and 10 dive staff back to Khao Lak, where Khao Lak Scuba Adventures has a support team, warm clothes and hotel rooms in a 4-star resort awaiting them.

The support team has already been in contact with relevant consulates and embassies for the passengers, who are from Germany, Switzerland, Austria, England, France and Thailand.

Mr Kaesweber explained that those on board the sunken vessel were expected back by about 11pm tonight. At the moment his ten-person support team composed several nationalities, two doctors and two psychologists is on standby.

Psychologists are part of the team to deal with any psychological effects caused by the incident, and the variety of nationalities on the team will ensure that those involved can receive support in their native tongue, Mr Kaesweber explained to the Gazette.

“A total of about 400 people need to be rescued from Koh Ta Chai, the President of the Similan National Marine Park told me,” Mr Kaesweber said.

An officer at The Operation Center of the Third Naval Area Command in Phuket who asked not to be named told the Phuket Gazette, “We have sent out the HTMS Pattanee ship to pick up people at Koh Ta Chai. It left at about 6pm and will be arriving around 9 pm.”

Those still at the islands are currently anchored in well protected bays, confirmed Mr Kaesweber.

The sunken dive boat rests at an unknown depth, he said. A team will head out in the morning to start salvage efforts.

"

 

[lord khram]

New wreck?

 

[currier]

Thankfully all passengers and crew are safe.
Now, how deep is that boat again?

 

[stevenl]

Caught in a freak storm? The speedboats there were sheltered at Tachai, as was this boat. The speedboats waited it out, the boat that sunk did not.

 

[Quero]

Did you hear that firsthand? A couple of published reports state that boat was en route to Tachai from Koh Bon but got swamped before they managed to get there. Or did the boat perhaps overnight at Tachai and in the morning go out to Koh Bon to return there in the afternoon (even though that doesn't make much sense in terms of itinerary)? If, as reported, the weather was okay in the morning, the speedboats would have gone to Tachai with snorkelers, spent the day there, and been unable to return, but if KLSA's boat Jaoying was traveling from Koh Bon to Tachai, that would indicate that they were trying to reach the shelter of the island, not leave it, when weather conditions deteriorated. I'm away from Phuket and haven't spoken with anyone who was aboard at the time, so I'm very curious about this contradictory information.

 

[stevenl]

They, and many others, were surprised by the weather. How that is possible I don't know, since the indicators and forecast were for a storm.

They were on their way from Bon to Tachai, bad weather came up, tried to return to Koh Bon, did not work, sought shelter at the leeward side of Tachai, but for some reason decided to find shelter elsewhere and got swamped.

 

[moonypixels]

I'm glad to hear that no one got hurt and that everyone is sound and safe!
I also believe that no one should make jokes such as “great there is a new wreck” shortly after a passenger boat went down…

Sadly enough this incident brings issues back up, which have been discussed for the last 15 years in the Phuket/Thai diving industry.
I have been working and living in Phuket from 1998 to 2011. I was Diveguide and Cruise Director on liveaboard boats around the Andaman Sea for many years, have had my fair share of bad weather out there and learned a lot of valuable lessons over these years. I am still living on a ship for most part of the year and am still running this ship as Cruise Director in Indonesia today and I still haven’t stopped learning about the sea…

The questions you have to ask yourselves are:
How (un)safe are the diving boats in Thailand? How many dive boats went down in the Andaman Sea over the last decade?
"Lazy Shark" on Island 9, "Atlantis something" on Island 8, "Atlantis something else" on Richelieu Rock, "Sea Hawk" boat down in Ko Ha region, "Dive Asia" just off the coast of Phuket. "Liburan" burnt down off the coast of Kamala, now "Manta Queen" at Tachai and I'm certain that I forgot a few others.

A close friend of mine, former owner of one the best and biggest dive outfit and liveaboards in Phuket at the time, THE pioneer in the Phuket diving industry and now a professional Marine Surveyor (DiplMarSur) had been fighting for years and years to improve the safety standards on Thai dive vessels but to no avail. Nobody wants to spend money on making their vessels safer and more seaworthy. How could most of them anyway? At 150 US$ p. person/p. night on board, how can you possibly spare some money on regular, scheduled maintenance and safety equipment, after paying all salaries, food, diesel, office rent, licenses, diving equipment, high commissions to the little booking agencies, R.I.B.’s, Outboard engines etc? Anyone can do this calculation... There won't be any money left at the end of the day and what money's left needs to be spent on the annual shipyard visit, an director of a company doesn't want to work for free either and the shareholders would like to see some money back too.
What doesn't help either is the fact that Thailand does not comply with International regulations because if that would be the case, I believe that the a whole bunch of "Passenger Boats" will be staying in port due to non-compliance with minimum safety standards according to IMO (International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for safety of international shipping), SOLAS (International Convention of Safety Of Life At Sea) and ISM (The International Safety Management Code addresses the responsibilities of the people who
manage and operate ships.) regulations.
Also, very few local crew working on liveaboards in Thailand hold any kind of Basic Safety Certificate, let alone the official “STCW 95” certificate (“Standards of Training and Certification of Watchkeeping” as determined by the IMO). The STCW 95 Basic Safety Training course is mandated by ALL flag States for all working seafarers. It is the international standard, approved by MCA, USCG, the Marshall Islands Registry and nearly every leading flag state in the world. This certificate which covers Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting, Personal Survival Techniques, Personal Safety and Social Responsibility, First Aid and CPR sadly is not even required for Diving Instructor or Dive Masters who are “Tour Leaders” or “Cruise Directors” on liveaboards in Thailand (and other Asian countries for that matter).
One can hope that this new incident now might start to make the Thai diving Industry think once again about what to do to increase the seaworthiness of their vessels, the safety of their vessels and the safety of their passengers on board.

Lastly, and this has more to do with human error, rather than regulations for vessels, everyone who has been working in the Andaman Sea for more than just one or two years should know, that there are 2 dates one has to keep an eye on and be extra careful when out at sea. Firstly, the good weather for the high season typically starts to come in with the "Vegetarian Festival" dates in Phuket (it doesn't mean that the sun will be shining all day long, without winds and rain afterwards though and one still needs to keep an eye open). Secondly, the end of the high season and therefore the more or less official start of rain, winds and storms is "Songkran" (after this date everyone still out at sea has to be very careful because the weather can turn sour very fast!).
It is not the first year that the Thai Navy had to come and rescue boats out at Ko Tachai! This has happened on several occasions in the past where people had to be evacuated from liveaboard boats and brought back to shore whilst the boats were waiting for the bad weather to calm down. And… it was always after “Songkran” (Thai New Year).

To all you Cruise Directors and dive crew out there… Just because it says Ko Tachai and Richelieu Rock on the schedule doesn't mean you absolutely have to go there. From Ko Bon back to good shelter is just a 13 n.m. stretch. You should know by now that most of your Captains will always say “Yes, can do”. When in doubt, take matters in your own hands, step up to your guests who don’t know the sea as well as you do and cancel your planned run to Richelieu. It’s always best to be safe than sorry folks!
Wishing you all safe travels, especially when out at sea and great diving too!!!

 

[Pearlman]

What was the name of this boat? Curious since I was there on a LOB trip recently.

Sent from my GT-N7000

 

[Mr. Black]

I'm glad to hear that no one got hurt and that everyone is sound and safe!
I also believe that no one should make jokes such as “great there is a new wreck” shortly after a passenger boat went down…

I am sure that joke would not have been made if there had been casualties. Lucky there were none so who would be harmed by that joke ?

Diving off boats in Thailand has always been interesting for me. The waft of ganja coming from the bridge during SI. The boat boys drunk on moonshine. The props being spun up when there are still divers in the water etc. It's a jungle out there!

 

[stevenl]

Diving off boats in Thailand has always been interesting for me. The waft of ganja coming from the bridge during SI. The boat boys drunk on moonshine.!

Sounds like you have never bene diving in the Andaman Sea.

---------- Post added April 21st, 2013 at 07:23 AM ----------

What was the name of this boat? Curious since I was there on a LOB trip recently.

Sent from my GT-N7000

Little Princess, better known under it's tradename Manta Queen IV.