Dive boat sank off Phuket Thailand today (6/7/05)

[Ringo]

Hi Everyone - this is my first posting so please be gentle with me....
I would like to know why this boat - Bubbleblue?? left port when the Thai authorities had clearly advised against it.Unfortunately Thailand has recieved negative press again as I remember another ferry boat and dive boat sinking this year???
This year I too had planned on coming to Phuket and dive the Similan National Park, although correct me if I am mistaken but I thought the Park is closed until October.
If this is the case then not only the boat operators are guilty but also the diveshops who book people on these trips.
From this and the previously mentioned incidents I will be very careful in whom I book my holiday with this year.

Good advice Asian Diver. Unfortunately some operators still insist on promoting Liveaboards to The Similan's during the Green Season between mid May - October. The weather is so unpredictable during these months and in my opinion it is totally unfair to send customers out to these sites then. There is honestly a good reason why most of the Liveaboards are not going to The Similan's now. If it was really viable then why would these boats not operate for 5 to 6 months of the year?

Don't cancel your plans to come to Phuket and if you want to go on a Liveaboard to The Similan's/Richelieu Rock then consider it from October - early May. It is a good idea to be selective about the operator or agent as unfortunately there are some who will book you on any boat that they can find, never mind the season. There are many professional operators on Phuket to choose from.

Otherwise if you come to Phuket before October the daytrip diving has a lot to offer. We prefer diving there now as we tend to see more marine life and the bigger pelagics due to the less amount of divers and boat surface traffic that is experienced in our High Season. It is very seldom that these trips need to be cancelled due to rough conditions.

 

[stevenl]

If it was really viable then why would these boats not operate for 5 to 6 months of the year?

Maybe because we all keep telling each other that it is a no go, so there are no guests wanting to go direction Similans? But then again, I don't think there is much point in starting this whole discussion again.

 

[Ringo]

Maybe because we all keep telling each other that it is a no go, so there are no guests wanting to go direction Similans? But then again, I don't think there is much point in starting this whole discussion again.

Yes Stevenl, I agree, no need to harp on! Why don't we just simply agree to differ? It's as easy as that. However it would be interesting to hear more opinons from the Liveaboard boat owners themselves as well as other agents or SB members. I am sure that more strong opinions - whether it be yay or nay - would arise. Happy Green Season! :57:

 

[Batfish]

Happy Green Season!

I have always tried to promote a couple of boats for summer trips,as I myself have had some very nice diving in Similan in the summer, but to be honest, if you look at the boats that are on offer in the summer...well, they are not boats we would really want to sell (as an agent). Only the Colona VI, which has some trips in August (if they get any bookings remains to be seen) is worth it's salt in my opinion. Basically, I think we will probably not be promoting Similan in the low season from now on. We'll see.

 

[ssra30]

I suppose when the weather is rougher, if I really want to go to the Similans, I would rather go on one of the bigger, better maintained boat for sure.
I heard that when A-1 go from Thailand to Andaman Island, they had to go through patches of rough sea with 2-3m waves.
Would I go to Andaman Island on a boat much smaller than A-1, definitely not.
I don't know what boats are available during off season but most of the bigger boats that I know are not doing any trip during that time around the Similans so if I want to do a LOB trip, Similans is going to be very low in my list, I think.
Not meaning to disrespect people who went through the ordeal but they weren't exactly force to go on the trip either so if the weather and the sea is bad enough, one ought to have enough good common sense also (after saying that, 2 days after the tsumani, I still had all my divegear packed thinking that it might still be possible to go to Andaman Island a couple of days after that, luckily the boat operator had better sense and canceled the trip).

 

[Asian Diver]

""Basically, I think we will probably not be promoting Similan in the low season from now on""
Wow thanks everyone for giving me an informed reply.Maybee as Sunrise has said above its simply not the best time to send people out there - Similan National Park.
Looking at many of Phukets diving websites its clear there is a difference of opinion, although I will stick to my guns and Ringos comments ""The weather is so unpredictable during these months and in my opinion it is totally unfair to send customers out to these sites then""
As this will be my only holiday this year I would like it to be unforgetable for the right reasons.

 

[MoonWrasse]

Looks like the boat was chartered by the government to study the effects of the tsunami on the reefs.

Also here's a recount of someone on the boat as it sank.

Writer recalls last moments of doomed diveboat

PHUKET: Gazette diving writer Chris Cruz has described the dramatic moments before the dive boat he was on capsized and sank during a heavy storm on Tuesday, leaving a Thai woman dead.

The 24-meter Bubble Blue, with 18 people on board, was several hours into the seven-hour journey from Chalong port to the Similan Islands when it was caught in bad weather.

Speaking from his bed in Wachira Phuket Hospital yesterday, Mr Cruz said: “The storm was really very, very bad, so we had to slow down. In the morning, at 8 am, even as early as 6 am, the waves were very, very strong.

“We got caught in the middle of the storm. The waves kept smashing into the boat and water was coming inside, and slowly, slowly, we started sinking.”

Having handed out buoyancy aids to the others, Mr Cruz said he realised that water was being forced through an air vent near the engine room, and it was this which was causing the boat to list to port.

The captain, he said, told everyone to move to the starboard side of the boat – as there would be less chance of them being hit by heavy items falling to the lower side of the boat.

But then, he said, “Suddenly we were in the water. Luckily it happened in the daytime. If it had happened at night, it would have been a disaster.”

Sukonthapan Weerawan, 36, from Bangkok, drowned.

Mr Cruz said, “We did everything we could to save her, but we couldn’t. We put her in the dinghy – it had capsized but we managed to get it the right way up – and we performed CPR [cardio-pulmonary resuscitation] on her, gave her mouth-to-mouth, but she didn’t make it.”

He continued, “There was lots of debris floating in the water when the boat sank. We shared food and tried to hydrate ourselves. I was telling my friends to eat as much as they could because we didn’t know how long we would be in the water. Everyone helped each other.

“Everyone was very, very calm, although I think people were a little bit scared. But considering there were 18 of us and only one person died it shows that we were doing the right things.”

After two hours in the rough sea, the group was spotted and picked up by a Thai fishing boat.

According to Mr Cruz, Bubble Blue sank in 80 meters of water. He said: “We were so lucky the boat picked us up, otherwise we could have been in the water 18 or 20 hours. I [was worried that] boats wouldn’t come there because of the storm.”

The fishing boat was just 30 minutes from Phuket by the time the rescue helicopter and marine police boat reached it. Mr Cruz – whose shoulder was dislocated during the sinking – was taken to Wachira Phuket Hospital.

The boat had been chartered from Bubble Blue Scuba company in Phang Nga by the national park authorities to check on the state of reefs in the Similans and to prepare for the installation of a protective pontoon.

Mr Cruz, who is from the Philippines, had volunteered for the survey trip because he is a friend of the owners of Bubble Blue Scuba.

The boat had left Chalong at 10 pm on Monday. On board were 11 researchers and divers, and seven crew. Said Mr Cruz: “When we left, the clouds were okay [and] the stars were out, so we didn’t think there was going to be a storm.”

http://www.phuketgazette.net/news/index.asp?id=4343

 

[Asian Diver]

Wow thats pretty amazing the boat was chartered by the government who in the next breath decides to close the National park http://phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?id=4348
Actually If i read correctly the head of the Similan quotes : Witthaya Hongwiangchan said that, as was the case every year, the park is closed from May 15 to November 15.
For all these dive operators clutching at straws by saying its only the accomodation on the island thats closed or something similar - I say wake up and smell the roses.
Greed will seperate the genuine safety consious dive centers and those out for a quick buck.
Thank you for the positive comments from those operators who are wise enough not to sell the Similan trips out of season and for those of you who promote the dive trips - well you have to live with that decision....

 

[Batfish]

Yes, the Similan National Park is closed. If a boat goes out, they must pay a "fine". There is no total enforcement of the closure.

 

[JonnieB]

Cannot believe a group of apparently advanced and knowledgeable (going out to do a reef survey and reef improvement work) divers would go out on a trip to the Similians at this time of year!!!

More amazing that a government agency (one you would think most knowedgeable of the hazards of going to the Sims at this time of year) was involved in this fiasco!!!!

Good to hear about the quick rescue, however, and the limited loss of life and serious injury in a harowing situation.