UPDATING All Day, Every Day
THE ANDAMANS' popular Similan Islands are to close from today until November 7 because of monsoon conditions, the national parks chief announced today. Speedboat captains who defy the order will face a year in jail and/or a 1000 baht fine plus loss of licence.
Original Report
PHUKET: A speedboat filled with tourists was returning to the mainland today after a holiday day-trip became a harrowing journey when they were declared missing in a monsoon storm.
The 31 tourists on the speedboat spent the night in a hut on remote Surin island after the captain of the vessel decided that it was safer to seek shelter than return to Tablamu pier in Phang Nga, north of Phuket.
According to one source, the speedboat was very low on fuel.
Similan Islands National Park chief Nat Kongkesorn said today that the speedboat left Tachai island to return to Tablamu about 6.20pm.
He said all the other captains had left early, about 3pm, to beat the approaching storm.
The other exception, a speedboat captain with responsibility for the safety of 33 passengers, opted to stay overnight on Tachai island.
At 8.20pm, the Love Andaman vessel lost contact with Similans officials and was declared missing.
Only at 1am today did officials learn that the speedboat captain had diverted to Surin island for safety's sake in the face of the monsoon storm.
Park chief Khun Nat said he intends to pursue the matter further to find out why the speedboat captain risked the safety of his passengers by deciding to try to get back to the mainland when all other vessels chose wiser options.
Questions are likely to be asked about whether the vessel had sufficient fuel.
The tourists - 25 Thais and six Russians - spent the night in a hut on Surin before heading back towards to the Andaman coast about 10.30am today.
A company spokesperson said the passengers were ''ok.''
The company was deciding whether to have the speedboat met with minivans at Tablamu or further north at Nam Khem pier.
Debate has intensified in the Phuket region about allowing speedboat captains to decide whether to put to sea in bad weather when poor decisions are often made.
The other issue is whether attempts to extend the opening dates for the Similans are wise when the monsoon weather continues to threaten to sink vessels.
The dates appear to have been extended recently purely to satisfy the desire of speedboat operators to make more money.
Opening the Similan & Surin Islands at a too early date (16 October - 31 October) and late in the season (01 May - 15 May), is the great risk to have one day, a sea disaster... and a rescue operation putting Thailand on the list of unsafe countries such as it is in Indonesia and Philippines.
Posted by Whistle-Blower on November 4, 2014 11:48