Deputy Transportation Minister Kittisak
Hatthasongkhrao talks to people gathered at Bali Hai pier about the
importance of water safety.
Pattaya Mail Team
Thailand’s deputy transportation minister marked the
seventh anniversary of the Asian tsunami with the opening of the Water
Safety Transportation Center in Sriracha.
Kittisak Hatthasongkhrao and Chonburi Gov. Khomsan
Ekachai toured the Samutkhet facility Dec. 26 and spoke about the need
to prepare for and limit the damage from natural disasters. More than
5,300 people died in the tidal wave seven years ago that day.
Since then, Thailand has marked Dec. 26 as “National
Disaster Prevention Day,” and has taken numerous steps to improve marine
safety around the country, including the installation of a vessel
traffic management system in the busy Laem Chabang Port.
With water again playing a major part in a national
disaster - this year’s flooding - Kittisak said public officials need to
work even hard to reassure citizens.
The Laem Chabang-Sriracha VTS and Maritime Security
Center is responsible for the supervision of traffic and security of
cargo ships entering and exiting Laem Chabang. It monitors all ships
within 12 miles of shore around the clock.
Later, the deputy transportation minister and his
entourage visited Bali Hai pier to remind people that water safety is a
paramount concern.
