Pattaya salvage teams use
slings to raise the Koh Larn Travel ferry that sunk Nov. 3, killing seven
and injuring scores more.
Teerarak Suthathiwong
Pattaya salvage teams have raised the Koh Larn Travel ferry that
capsized early this month, killing seven tourists and injuring dozens more.
C.M.P. Onshore Offshore worked with Marine Department divers and the Marine
Police to secure, then raise, the damaged vessel. Slings held the boat above
the water while C.M.P. crews patched the hole that sank the boat Nov. 3.
Once again seaworthy, the boat was towed to a repair yard in Naklua.
The hull showed a gaping hole where captain Saman Khwanmueang, who admitted
to being on drugs at the time of the accident, crashed the Koh Larn Travel 1
into a rocky reef. The collision broke a bilge-pump pump, allowing the
vessel to flood quickly.
Investigators will make a more-thorough investigation of the vessel while it
is dry-docked.
Koh Larn Travel has been charged with all expenses for raising the boat,
although the total cost has not been made available.
