PHUKET: Tourists on a day-trip speedboat that sank off Phuket had asked the captain before leaving Phuket if it was safe to go to sea, survivors of the sinking said yesterday.
''With two children, we were very careful,'' said Australian Zuhal Ergun, who ventured out with husband Hakan and daughters Sena, two, and Beyza, eight.
''We asked the captain before boarding on Phuket. The captain asssured us he had checked the weather forecast and that the the trip would be fine.''
Two speedboat sinkings off Phuket so far this year and a handful of narrow escapes are likely to increase pressure for Phuket's speedboats to be obliged not to put to sea on days when dangerous storms are forecast.
Turkish and Kuwait tourists backed the Hakan's statement that the speedboat, which sank in a violent storm off Phi Phi on Monday, should never have left Phuket.
The 13 tourists finally returned to Phuket late yesterday after being unable to board a Phuket-bound ferry from Phi Phi in the morning because of the crush of people wanting to leave Phi Phi.
Mr Egun said of the speedboat sinking: ''The boat crew were hopeless. We virtually had to put on lifejackets and organise our own evacuation from the sinking boat.
''I spotted the water coming up from the bottom of the boat. At first, the crew didn't believe me, until they opened a hatch and found it filled to the top.''
Mrs Egun, suffering cuts and scrapes as she clambered off the sinking vessel, managed to swim clear with Beyza.
But Mr Ergun, cradling his two-year-old, said he narrowly escaped going down with the speedboat as it sank, briefly pulling them under the water with it.
The 13 tourists - the first to be rescued, by boats from Phi Phi - were taken to Phi Phi.
The other 24 survivors had to tread water for an hour or more, awaiting rescue, before being picked up and transported straight back to Phuket.
That group were mostly Chinese and British. For those who could swim, it was an ordeal. For those who couldn't swim, it was a nightmare.
With the Australians among the ''forgotten'' speedboat passengers from Phi Phi who returned to Phuket yesterday were Turkish visitors Eylem Colak, 32, Gulben Gunduz, 34, and Kuwaitis Jaseem Alshirati, 55, with nephews Yosef Alshirati, 15, and Abdullah Alshirati, 13.
All of them confirmed that the captain had reassured passengers it was safe to go out, and said the sinking was a terrifying experience they would never forget.
A representative from PNT Travel, also operating under New Generation travel Co Ltd, organised for the 13 travellers to be met at Rassada Pier yesterday and transported to their Phuket resorts.
Envoys in Bangkok are likely to press government officials to improve safety standards on boat trips around the region by making sure speedboats stay anchored when violent Phuket storms are predicted.
''With two children, we were very careful,'' said Australian Zuhal Ergun, who ventured out with husband Hakan and daughters Sena, two, and Beyza, eight.
''We asked the captain before boarding on Phuket. The captain asssured us he had checked the weather forecast and that the the trip would be fine.''
Two speedboat sinkings off Phuket so far this year and a handful of narrow escapes are likely to increase pressure for Phuket's speedboats to be obliged not to put to sea on days when dangerous storms are forecast.
Turkish and Kuwait tourists backed the Hakan's statement that the speedboat, which sank in a violent storm off Phi Phi on Monday, should never have left Phuket.
The 13 tourists finally returned to Phuket late yesterday after being unable to board a Phuket-bound ferry from Phi Phi in the morning because of the crush of people wanting to leave Phi Phi.
Mr Egun said of the speedboat sinking: ''The boat crew were hopeless. We virtually had to put on lifejackets and organise our own evacuation from the sinking boat.
''I spotted the water coming up from the bottom of the boat. At first, the crew didn't believe me, until they opened a hatch and found it filled to the top.''
Mrs Egun, suffering cuts and scrapes as she clambered off the sinking vessel, managed to swim clear with Beyza.
But Mr Ergun, cradling his two-year-old, said he narrowly escaped going down with the speedboat as it sank, briefly pulling them under the water with it.
The 13 tourists - the first to be rescued, by boats from Phi Phi - were taken to Phi Phi.
The other 24 survivors had to tread water for an hour or more, awaiting rescue, before being picked up and transported straight back to Phuket.
That group were mostly Chinese and British. For those who could swim, it was an ordeal. For those who couldn't swim, it was a nightmare.
With the Australians among the ''forgotten'' speedboat passengers from Phi Phi who returned to Phuket yesterday were Turkish visitors Eylem Colak, 32, Gulben Gunduz, 34, and Kuwaitis Jaseem Alshirati, 55, with nephews Yosef Alshirati, 15, and Abdullah Alshirati, 13.
All of them confirmed that the captain had reassured passengers it was safe to go out, and said the sinking was a terrifying experience they would never forget.
A representative from PNT Travel, also operating under New Generation travel Co Ltd, organised for the 13 travellers to be met at Rassada Pier yesterday and transported to their Phuket resorts.
Envoys in Bangkok are likely to press government officials to improve safety standards on boat trips around the region by making sure speedboats stay anchored when violent Phuket storms are predicted.
I will try again...the boats are constructed to squeeze in the highest no of people, unless there is absolutely no waves then the ride is at best uncomfortable, there is no check on the boats while being constructed, they don't have to conform to any standards, anybody can do one of these plywood/fiber boats. The forces on the boats are enormous when they slam into the waves and over time damage is done to the construction. They carry a large amount of fuel as the 200hp motors easily consumes 25l/h however that does not prevent the boat boys from smoking next to the motors, the ability to fight a fire on board is at best inadequate, anybody that have done some safety fire training will know that a fire extinguisher does not easily put out a fuel fire. The boats do not carry any life rafts, only lifesaving equipment are the life vests which are not approved and likely locally made, no CE marking or US coast guard approval stamped on them. The boats do not carry marine radios for the most part but rely on mobile phones for "distress calls", sometimes there is no coverage on the sea, and on assistance from friends in other boats.
So why are the boats being used ? Well it is a very lucrative business , and luckily the boats seem to be approved to the no of people it is possible to squeeze in them and nothing else.
Will there be accidents in the future ? Of course there will be, and maybe there will not be a lucky ending next time.
Posted by Bjarne on August 29, 2012 11:07