A fire erupted on the Davy Jones’ Locker boat, which was transporting 28 tourists to a diving site near Koh Tao, prompting an evacuation by the Royal Thai Navy’s Marine Department in Surat Thani province.
The incident occurred at 9:25 AM on March 16, when Captain Natthaphon Sinphunphon received an alert from Koh Tao’s rescue center regarding flames in the boat’s engine room. The vessel, weighing 23.29 gross tons and owned by Davy Jones Locker Co., Ltd., was approximately 5 to 6 nautical miles from the island when the fire broke out.
The Marine Department quickly coordinated with local agencies, private boats, and volunteers to ensure the safe transfer of all tourists and crew to another vessel. A separate team of volunteers worked to extinguish the fire, which caused significant damage to the engine room, the captain’s cabin, and the rear bathroom. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
In a related incident, a potential disaster was averted when a catamaran carrying 38 foreign tourists capsized off the coast of Phuket. The Emiray 888 catamaran, which set off from Chalong Pier for a day trip to Racha Island, began taking on water and slowly sank about 1.6 nautical miles north of the island. On board were 33 Chinese tourists, two tour guides, and three crew members.
The regional rescue center swiftly organized a response involving local officials and patrol boats, as speedboats and tour boats quickly arrived on the scene. Thankfully, all passengers were wearing life jackets, and everyone was safely rescued.
In the aftermath, the Tourist Police collaborated with the Port Authority and other relevant agencies to provide support to the affected tourists.
