Two more vessels sink in monsoon seas off Phuket

Two more vessels sink in monsoon seas off Phuket

The Cambodian-registered container ship Sinaran Andaman was driven onto shoreline rocks and sank at Koh Hae near Phuket on Wednesday. (Photo by Achadtaya Chuenniran)
The Cambodian-registered container ship Sinaran Andaman was driven onto shoreline rocks and sank at Koh Hae near Phuket on Wednesday. (Photo by Achadtaya Chuenniran)

A Cambodian-registered container ship and a fishing boat sank in rough seas off Phuket on Wednesday morning, but the navy saved both crews.

The container vessel Sinaran Andaman reportedly had an engine problem and strong, monsoon  driven waves pushed it onto the rocks at Koh Hae island south of Phuket about 10am.

The 10 crew members, six Indonesians and four from Myanmar, were rescued by a helicopter of the 3rd Naval Area Command.

The 68-metre-long, 793-gross-ton ship belongs to Andaman Unik Co in Penang, Malaysia.

About two hours earlier, a longline fishing boat named Anya Namchoke capsized off Koh Racha Noi island south of Phuket. A naval vessel, HTMS Chonburi, rescued all six crewmen.

Meanwhile, naval and marine police officers continued the search for six missing crew of a barge carrying construction materials that sank on Tuesday.

The barge had an engine problem and attempted to anchor in heavy seas,  but was overcome by the waves and sank, on its way from Phuket to Koh Racha Yai island about 4am Tuesday.

The Meteorological Department warned that waves in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand would be 2-4 metres high until next Tuesday due to the strong monsoon covering the Andaman Sea, the South and the Gulf, and small boats should stay ashore during this period.

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