A LETTER from the Prime Minister's office calling for an immediate end to ship blockades on Phuket and revelations of the large sums of money to be gained by local taxi drivers brought Phuket's transport crisis into sharp focus today.

Taxi drivers whose passengers included rich tourists from cruise ships stood to gain 30 to 40 percent commission on the sale of jewellery that sometimes carried a price tag of a million baht, a meeting at Phuket City's Provincial Hall heard.

''That's enough for a taxi driver not to have to work again for a very, very long time,'' the meeting heard. Some of the big tour agencies, particularly from Europe and Scandanavia, had already shifted their customers off Phuket to Khao Lak and other destinations where rip-offs did not occur, the gathering was told.

With a battle group that includes the USS Ronald Reagan now at sea and planning to anchor off Phuket soon, details also were provided for the first time about other serious blockades that had previously not been reported or only mentioned in outline.

Perhaps the most telling comment came from veteran Phuket hotelier Methee Tanmanatragul, who said: ''This is a very big issue. We are talking about death or survival, not just for one or two, but for the entire Phuket tourism industry.''

The meeting involving some of Phuket's top tourism and transport chiefs and police began with the announcement of the arrival of a letter dated March 30 from the PM's office noting that crew from the destroyer USS Decatur had been blockaded on March 22 and calling on authorities ''not to let it happen again.''

In that incident, the gathering later heard, two buses were halted by irate taxi drivers and local police were called to settle the dispute.

The letter from the PM's Secretary, Anchalee Vanich, failed to note a far worse incident that came on April 6. On that date, the taxi protesters at Phuket's deep sea port blockaded the road and prevented passengers from the cruise ship Silver Spirit - one of the world's top 10 luxury liners - from enjoying a single day stopover on Phuket.

Repercussions are expected from that blockade, which could lead to major losses for all of Phuket. A tour representative who wishes to remain anonymous told today's meeting: ''We are looking at alternatives now - Singapore, Malaysia, perhaps even Burma.''

And it emerged there was another blockade by taxi drivers just a week later, involving a Star cruise liner that was blockaded for half an hour.

Once bad weather leaves the cruise ships that have been anchoring off Patong with no choice except the deep sea port, the continuing crisis of blockade after blockade is likely to reach a new level.

It was pointed out that if 10 or 12 cruise ships arrive at the deep sea port each month, drivers have the capacity to make as much as $US50 a day for perhaps 30 days.

News of the series of fresh protests in the past few weeks will also provide little comfort to US officials who last year extracted a promise from Phuket authorities, after three blockades of varying intensity involving US vessels, that Phuket felt a collective ''sense of shame'' and that such incidents ''would never happen again.''

Such guarantees have proven to be worthless, depending as they do on the whim of the local collective of legal and illegal taxi drivers who operate around the Ao Makham deep sea port on Phuket's east coast.

The leader of the taxi group has said in the past two weeks that the group does not care if cruise ships choose not to come to Phuket, and that it has ''no problem'' with the US Navy.

It was noted at today's meeting that taxi drivers benefit by more than just a 1500 baht fare - the high price charged for a 30-minute trip across the island from the deep sea port to Patong - when cruise ship passengers are involved.

The drivers can collect 30 to 40 percent of visitors' spending on jewellery. ''Who cares about the cab fare when such options are available,'' the meeting was told.

''A deal for gems of between 500,000 baht and a million baht could set up a cab driver for a very long time.'' Guides were just as guilty as taxi drivers because they too received similar commissions, the gathering heard.

Earlier this week, Vice Governor Niwit Aroonrat told an investigating committee in Bangkok chaired by Deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban that he knew of cases where jewellery products made for just 100 baht were sold to tourists at 2000 baht to cover the cost of corrupt commissions to taxi and tuk-tuk drivers and hotels.

No wonder then that Thai Hotels Association marketing director Bhuritt Maswongssa made the point that the taxi drivers invest nothing in Phuket or its marketing to attract tourists, but make large amounts with little effort.

As Khun Methee said: ''We are talking about death or survival, not just for one or two, but for the entire Phuket tourism industry.''

It was noted that searches on Google for Phuket taxis, tuk-tuks and jet-skis bring up story after story noting extortionate prices and scams.

Even if a taxi driver took a passenger to a jewellery store and the passenger spent 40,000 baht, the commission was substantial, the meeting heard. Rip-offs were now threatening the whole Phuket tourism industry, participants were told.

Khun Methee again summed up the situation accurately when he said: ''We want to see everybody get the benefit from tourism in the long, long term, not like this.''

Phuripat Theerakulpisut, Chief of Phuket's Marine Office 5, who says ''everything is fixed'' in dealing with the US Navy, is hosting a meeting on May 4 that may reach an arrangement with tour companies.

The Deputy PM's high-level investigation of tourism rip-offs on Phuket and in Thailand is expected to report at the end of May. Phuket's honorary consuls are due to hold their sixth meeting with Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha on May 23.