Officials are stepping up maritime safety awareness to ensure tourists are kept safe while at sea. Prawet Supachai from the Region 5 Marine Office says all concerned parties in Phuket, Krabi, Phang Nga, Ranong, Satun and Trang have been told to make sure all operators are aware of safety precautions and maritime regulations.
In addition, officials are being reminded that maritime regulations must be strictly enforced. Checks are to be carried out on all piers, boats, and crew, to ensure vessels are properly licenced and boat crew have work permits.
Prawet says that since the start of the year, around 9.1 million people have travelled through the piers under the supervision of the Region 5 Marine Office, undertaking a total of 410,000 trips. Most of those were in Phuket, with 4 million passengers, followed by 3.6 million in Krabi and 760,000 in Satun. There were 330,000 in Ranong, 220,000 in Phang Nga, and 104,000 in Trang.
Last weekend, inspections were carried out at a number of piers in Phuket, with officials checking safety measures and operating standards, to ensure all facilities were equipped to deal with emergencies and accidents.
In July 2018, 46 people died when the Phoenix tour boat, which was carrying 101 passengers, 87 of whom were Chinese tourists, capsized off Phuket during stormy weather.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
