PHUKET: Operators of Thai diving and fishing tour boats at Chalong Pier have raised safety concerns about the state of one of the main pontoons at the key tour boat facility, with exposed rust posing a danger to tourists and the pontoon starting to sink again.
The pontoon at risk is the same one that started sinking early last year, prompting officials to take action and weld patches over where the rust had eaten through.
“This is happening time and again,” one of the tour boat operators told The Phuket News.
“Not only is it unpleasant for tourists to look at when they board boats to head out on tours, but also it is dangerous. The exposed rust poses a danger to their feet. They cannot even walk barefoot onto the boats,” the operator said.
The sinking pontoon also poses an obvious risk.
“It may be sinking slowly now, but no one knows if the pontoon will just give way and sink,” the operator said.
“Like any steel boat in Thailand, the material used to build the pontoon is cheap steel from China. It rusts very quickly. When the pontoon is built it is given a protected coating, but after two to three years it starts to rust inside…
“Then the rust starts to spread. You cannot see how much rust there is inside, so you do not know how much damage has been done,” the operator added.
“Last year they patched the holes with welding. This does not fix the problem of the rust from inside,” he added.
“The whole system at the marina Is a mess. It is all steel, and it all rusts. It is called an international-standard marina, but it is made with the wrong, cheap, steel. It is made to look good, but it is not working,” he said.
The alternative is to have a new pontoon made from aluminium, but the cost may be prohibitive.
“The price is three to four times what it costs to make with the cheap steel, but it is good for 20 to 30 years,” the operator explained.
“The big problem we have today is that if they just keep welding and repainting it, then the same problem will keep happening,” he added.
The operator recognised that a key concern for fixing the pontoon properly was getting the budget required.
“It could cost anywhere from B10 million to B20 million, and for that local authorities will need budget approval from Bangkok,” he explained.
“It will take time, and by next high season we might not have a safe, secure pontoon at the pier… and that is a problem,” the operator said.
