M/V Phoenix sinking brings safety training in the spotlight

The sinking of the 29 meter tour boat M/V Phoenix off Phuket on July 5th which caused the loss of 47 tourist, including 13 children, brought the importance of crew safety training and the provision of adequate safety equipment onboard into the spotlight.

As there are all too frequent collisions, fire on board incidents, speed boat accidents and tour boat sinking, better crew safety training and the provision of adequate safety equipment on board could reduce the occurrence of unnecessary loss of life or injury.

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All vessels which are 24 meters long or more, are subject to international standards of crew safety training, competence and safety equipment requirements.  There are 173 maritime nations, including Thailand, which are signatories to the IMO and for whom these safety training and equipment standards are mandated by international law.

Vessels under 24 meters length are subject only to local national standards and requirements for crew training, competence and safety equipment.  Thus, the vast majority of Thai vessels engaged in tourism related activities are subject to Thai safety regulation and crew training standards.

In July 2017 Galileo Maritime Academy, a seafarer training center based in Phuket, Thailand, proposed that Thailand could adopt a modified version of the MGN 280 training standards. These crew training standards have been developed and implemented over the last ten years by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for small vessels in commercial use for sport, tourism, work boats and pilot boats.

The modified MGN 280 based proposals would provide internationally approved crew training standards, experience levels and safety equipment requirements for these vessels and would be directly relevant to the Thai marine tourism industry on a practical and progressive program for captains and crew of tourism related vessels under 24 meters length.

This training program  follows the MCA, IMO and SOLAS guidelines and standards whilst being provided in Thai language and arranged so as not to interrupt normal tourist vessel operations. In the same time, it would enable all vessel operators, their insurers, customer hotels, tour agencies and guests to be assured of competent crew and proper safety standards and equipment on board all tourist boats.

The sinking of the M/V Phoenix and the loss of 47 tourist lives surely will provide the impetus for the Thai marine authorities to accelerate their consideration of adopting the proposed MGN 280 based safety and crew competence standards for tourist related vessels in Thailand, or at least something similar.

Galileo Maritime Academy highlighted.