The Marine Department will lodge a civil lawsuit against the owner of the Phoenix for failing to salvage the ship, which sank off the coast of Phuket last month, killing 47 Chinese tourists.
Jirut Wisanjit, the department's director-general, said the department had ordered the Phoenix's owner to salvage the ill-fated ship on July 11, but the proprietor has failed to meet the 20 day deadline to recover the wreckage. Under the Navigation in the Thai Waters Act, the owners are responsible for the recovery of their sunken vessels.
As the deadline has passed, added Mr Jirut, the department has taken over efforts to recover the wreckage.
The sunken ship was found at a depth of 45 metres deep underwater, which meant that only highly-skilled divers can be assigned for the salvage effort. "The owner had claimed that the Phoenix had sunk so deep that it will not disrupt the navigation of other ships in the area," said Mr Jirut.
"However, the department believes that the Phoenix must be salvaged as it still could pose risks to navigation, and may cause environmental damage since the wreckage is located within in close proxity to coral reefs."
"After the boat is successfully salvaged, the department will sue the owner for compensation from all incurred damage," said Mr Jirut, who added that the cost to salvage the sunken ship has been estimated to be around 10 million baht.
According to Mr Jirut, 20 divers have been working since last Thursday to rig the ill-fated ship with belts, gaskets and iron bars to ensure it would not disintegrate and cause further damage as the wreckage is lifted to the surface. More than 10% of the boat's fuselage is covered by sand, while the stern of the ship is extensively damaged, he added.
The next task, he said, is to connect the rigs to buoys and cranes to help raise the boat to the water's surface.
The salvage effort is expected to be completed by Aug 11, said Mr Jirut, before adding that the boat will then be brought to a shipyard to be examined -- a process that could take up to 30 days to complete.
When questioned about the seaworthiness of other ships operating in and around Phuket, Mr Jirut said more than 100 boats out of the 400 registered boats in the province have been inspected.
To date, two boats have been found to be structurally inadequate and improvements to the boats in question have been ordered by authorities from the Marine Department.
Mr Jirut said it is difficult to check the seaworthiness of boats in Phuket, as more than 40 piers are located all around the island.
Discussion to cut the number of piers down to 24 is ongoing, and plans have been establish seaworthiness checkpoints on existing piers to prevent further incidents from recurring in the future.
The sinking of the Phoenix captured widespread attention as it was not the only ship that sank due to rough conditions off Phuket's waters. The Serenita sank off Koh Mai Thon, a small resort island off the coast of Phuket. There were 42 people aboard, all of whom were rescued.