Salvage challenge after captain sinks boat in Chao Phraya
A ship carrying wind turbine poles heading to Ayutthaya sank in Nonthaburi province on Tuesday morning after its captain took on water in an attempt to sail under a bridge.
The Provincial Marine Department branch is considering how to salvage the ship, which is totally submerged, leaving only the poles sticking above the water.
Somkiat Kosrikrainiramon, branch director, said the salvage operation was expected to start on Thursday and other boats could travel past the area as the tugboat blocked only the west side of the waterway.
However, he suggested other vessels sail with caution.
Somkiat was speaking after inspecting the scene of the accident, which took place in the middle of Chao Phraya River, about 300 metres from the Nonthaburi Bridge.
The captain of the tugboat had demarcated the site of the sunken boat using bottles tied together with ropes to warn other vessels.
Somkiat said the captain of the boat had told him that he was towing the poles from Chon Buri’s Sattahip district heading to Nakhon Luang district in Ayutthaya when the accident happened.
He quoted the captain as saying that when the boat neared the Nonthaburi Bridge, the poles were too high for the boat to go under the bridge, so he decided to pump water into the boat to lower it into the river.
However, too much water was pumped into the boat, resulting in the sinking.