Volume 13, Issue 16
What’s Inside:
Accredited
1 - 15 May 2014
30 BAHT
Sea safety NOW given priority
Accredited
Delegates from the boat building industry attended a conference at Ocean Marina
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ollowing a spate of Pattaya bay maritime accidents in the last year, some involving loss of life, the local authorities are now highlighting the problem and organizing safety training. Around 50 delegates from the boat building industry attended a conference held at the Ocean Marina organized by the International Marine College of Kasetsart University and other bodies. Speakers addressed various issues including regulatory matters, boating design, construction technologies, marine equipment and personnel training. Dr Albert Nazarov, of Albatross Marine Design, pointed out that the
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local and international media found boating accidents more newsworthy than road tragedies, especially involving motorbikes, but he accepted that there was room for improvement at sea. He pointed out that 75 percent of all local sea accidents involving injury or worse concerned small tourist craft and speed boats used for transportation. These craft, he said, needed to be updated in terms of safety layout, notably rearranging seats so that they were all aft and forward looking with none at the vulnerable bow area. The concept of a volunteer coast guard with ongoing training by the marine police was given a warm welcome by the conference. It was pointed out that
both Thais and suitable foreigners could be used as there was a long tradition of using auxiliaries in other divisions of the Royal Thai Police including city, tourist and highway. Other subjects covered were pre-departure preparations, safety inspections, post-trip inspection and accident management. Banglamung district chief Sakchai Taenghor said that when tourists choose to travel by boat they expected to receive the best of service from boat operators and staff. He acknowledged that the biggest problem was the fragmented nature of the local Continued on page 4