PHUKET, Nov 19 (TNA) — Minister of Tourism and Sports Weerasak Kowsurat said that Chinese officials were satisfied and grateful for the extraordinary efforts by the Thai government to retrieve the wreck of the Phoenix tourist boat that sank off Phuket so that the cause of the accident can be confirmed.
Mr Weerasak along with the ministry’s Permanent-Secretary Pongpanu Svetarundra, Phuket governor Phakaphong Tavipatana, Mr Li Chunlin China’s Consul General to Thailand and a contingent from the media boarded the Marine Police coastal patrol vessel Wasuthep to inspect the progress on the salvage operation.
Marine salvage experts successfully raised the Phoenix to the surface on November 17 after it sank in July. The next step will be to use a 34 meter long tug to tow the vessel to the Rattanachai shipyard where it will be raised onto a cradle where it can be examined. It is estimated that the towing operation will take 3-4 hours.
Mr Li said that he was impressed with the honest and unstinting efforts by Thai officials to identify the cause of the accident.
Mr Li Chunli also thanked the Thai government for placing the highest priority in safeguarding the welfare of tourists and putting in place improved security measures that will not only improve the country’s image but also foster closer ties between the Thai and Chinese people. (TNA)
