SURAT THANI – Fortunately, all 102 people on the sinking ship, including foreign tourists, were rescued safely to Koh Tao, Surat Thani Province, on Friday. After that, the Regional Harbour Office, Koh Phangan Branch, issued an order to the ship owner’s company not to use this sinking ship and salvage it within 15 days.
Capt. Natthaphon Sinpoolpon, Deputy Director of the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre in Surat Thani Province, released a summary report on the situation involving the passenger ship T. Sandee Maneesap 111, registration number 308400045, size 114.93 gross tonnes, route Surat Thani-Koh Tao.
The ship set off from the Surat Thani Municipality port at 11:00 p.m. on the night of December 21, bound for Koh Tao. Water entered the boat around 6:00 a.m. on December 22 due to strong waves and wind conditions while the boat was going around 15 nautical miles (27.78 kilometres) from Koh Tao.
When authorities learned of the situation, they dispatched three Lomprayah speedboats and three tourist boats to rescue all 102 passengers and crew members at 9:10 a.m. Everyone arrived safely on Koh Tao while this ship sank around 10:30 a.m.
The Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre, Surat Thani Province, sent a boat to the scene at 12.20 p.m. to collect life-saving rafts and tourist luggages.
Regional Harbor Master, Koh Phangan Branch later issued order to other ships to be careful when navigating in the sub-district and nearby areas, within a distance of 5.5 nautical miles from Koh Tao, at latitude 9.9930 minutes north and longitude 99.7502 minutes east.
Simultaneously, the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre issued a statement to the boat’s owner, Mr. Paitoon Kongchan, alerting him of the prohibition on operating the boat, T. Sandee Maneesap 111, until suitable action is taken.
There was also an order to salvage the ship, dismantle, relocate, or destroy sunken ship wreckage from the area where the ship sank. It must be finished within 15 days of receiving this order. Throughout the procedure, signs indicating dangers will be made visible for navigation both during the day and at night.
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