PHUKET: A tsunami warning buoy has been pulled out of alignment by human traffickers or fishermen, the Director of the National Disaster Warning Center, Group Captain Somsak Khaosuwan, said today.
''I believe it could have been a Rohingya boat or a large fishing boat,'' Group Captain Somsak said today from Bangkok, where he is based.
''The positioning of the tsunami buoy is vital for tsunami warnings in the Indian Ocean region, especially Thailand and Indonesia.''
A vessel is to sail from Phuket's Cape Panwa on Monday with the aim of replacing the tsunami buoy with a new model. The buoy is positioned between Thailand and the Indian protectorate of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
''The buoy has to be precisely positioned so it can relate to a satellite to send data,'' Group Captain Somsak said. ''A large boat appears to have anchored on the buoy and dragged it out of position.
''Such movement would not occur naturally. It must have been a Rohingya vessel or a large fishing boat.''
The group captain said the information for the last tsunami warning on Phuket in April 2013 came from the buoy. But it had been moved out of position in August.
Rohingya, fleeing ethnic cleansing in Burma in larger numbers, are now being transported south on larger vessels capable of holding 500 to 700 people.
The big boats have never been reported to have been apprehended by officials off Thailand.
Human trafficking along Thailand's coast has become a popular industry because locals considered it more lucrative and less dangerous than dealing in drugs.
However, the larger boats now carry more Rohingya further out to sea. Instead of being dependent on the safe ''sailing season'' between monsoons, Rohingya are now being traded south from Burma to Malaysia all year round.
''I believe it could have been a Rohingya boat or a large fishing boat,'' Group Captain Somsak said today from Bangkok, where he is based.
''The positioning of the tsunami buoy is vital for tsunami warnings in the Indian Ocean region, especially Thailand and Indonesia.''
A vessel is to sail from Phuket's Cape Panwa on Monday with the aim of replacing the tsunami buoy with a new model. The buoy is positioned between Thailand and the Indian protectorate of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
''The buoy has to be precisely positioned so it can relate to a satellite to send data,'' Group Captain Somsak said. ''A large boat appears to have anchored on the buoy and dragged it out of position.
''Such movement would not occur naturally. It must have been a Rohingya vessel or a large fishing boat.''
The group captain said the information for the last tsunami warning on Phuket in April 2013 came from the buoy. But it had been moved out of position in August.
Rohingya, fleeing ethnic cleansing in Burma in larger numbers, are now being transported south on larger vessels capable of holding 500 to 700 people.
The big boats have never been reported to have been apprehended by officials off Thailand.
Human trafficking along Thailand's coast has become a popular industry because locals considered it more lucrative and less dangerous than dealing in drugs.
However, the larger boats now carry more Rohingya further out to sea. Instead of being dependent on the safe ''sailing season'' between monsoons, Rohingya are now being traded south from Burma to Malaysia all year round.
How I wish I was a reporter, so many questions could have been asked to Group Captain Somsak Khaosuwan. 1) Waht proof of a "large" vessel? 2)Why even metion the Rohingya, when he has no proof. 3) How did he know it was "moved" in August and why has it taken 5 months (lucky there wasn't any tsunamis) to do something about it, if it had been "moved" why wasn't it "moved" back. 4) How far out of position can it be to be unusable? 5) As for it not being able to be moved "naturally" has he even considered that it may not have been anchored securely in the first place ( I hope they didn't use Marine Office 5...lol)
Posted by Laurie howells on January 22, 2014 11:25
Editor Comment:
As the group captain kindly interrupted a meeting and only had four minutes to spare, your questions would have gone unanswered. You don't have the open mind required to be a reporter, Laurie.