The Marine Department (MD) has sent a letter to the Transport Ministry questioning whether it has the authority to investigate corruption allegations against its director-general, Sorasak Saensombat.
A source close to the ministry said the MD sent a letter to the transport permanent secretary Chatchai Thipsunawee asking him whether the MD's deputy chief Jiraporn Jantharasiri has the right to probe Mr Sorasak's alleged wrongdoing in a beach protection project.
Mr Sorasak signed an agreement to implement a beach erosion protection system in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Hua Sai district with Port and Marine Corp on May 20, 2014, at a cost of 468 million baht.
In January, the Office of the Auditor-General submitted a letter to the MD suspecting Mr Sorasak would go over the project's budget.
An examination later found around 2.7 million baht was overspent on equipment procurement.
Mr Sorasak was briefly moved from his position as MD chief to transport inspector-general pending the investigation but was reinstated as MD director-general on March 16, despite the ongoing investigation.
The MD signed an order on March 7 to set up a committee chaired by the MD deputy chief Jiraporn Jantharasiri to investigate the allegations against Mr Sorasak.
"It is unusual to allow subordinates to investigate allegations against their boss. A new committee should be set up to run the probe to ensure transparency," the source said.
The source added a new committee should come from another state agency, not from the MD and that Mr Sorasak should not be involved in the investigation procedure.
The source says the MD doubts the probe can be fair and transparent unless an outside body looks into the case.
According to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), Thailand has 3,148 kilometres of shoreline.
Of this, 830km -- 730km in the Gulf of Thailand and 100km in Andaman coast -- is being eroded.
Eroded shorelines, from Samut Sakhon to Chachoengsao province, are at a critical point.