Chronicle of the incident
On December 21 at about 23:00, a passenger ferry bound for the popular tourist island of Tau departed from the municipal port of Surat Thani in southern Thailand. On board were 96 passengers - mostly foreign tourists from Europe and Asia, as well as 6 crew members. The voyage was supposed to take about 5 hours.
However, already in the morning, at about six o'clock, when there was not much left to the island of Tau - about 15 nautical miles or 28 kilometers - the ferry got into a strong storm. The wind gusts reached 20 meters per second and the waves were over 2 meters high. Due to the strong sea swell, a leak formed in the hull of the vessel.
The situation was rapidly deteriorating - water was quickly filling the hold. By nine o'clock in the morning it became clear that the ferry was about to go down. The captain gave an SOS signal, and rescue services immediately came to the rescue.
Competent and decisive actions of the emergency services allowed to avoid human casualties. At 9:10, three Lomprayah speedboats and three tourist boats arrived on the scene. Within minutes, all 102 people on board the sinking vessel were evacuated and taken to Tau Island. At 10:30, the ferry went completely underwater.
While the rescuers were doing their job, authorities quickly organized measures to ensure the safety of navigation in the area of the disaster. The Thai Maritime Force Control Center has set up warning signs visible day and night at the site of the wreck. Restrictions have been imposed on all types of vessels within a 5.5 nautical mile radius of Tau Island.
In addition, the owner of the sunken ferry Paitun Kongchan was fined and ordered to raise the vessel from the seabed within 15 days.
The tragic events of December 21 once again demonstrated the importance of constant readiness of emergency services to respond promptly to incidents in the high seas. Thanks to coordinated and decisive actions it was possible to prevent loss of life. This is yet another reminder that danger always lurks in the open ocean and one must be prepared for it.
Author of the article: Ekaterina Antonova
