Tugboat capsizes in choppy Gulf of Thailand, all crew members rescued
All crew members of the “PL Arthena” tugboat were rescued by Saturday afternoon after their vessel was knocked over by heavy waves in the early hours.
Crew of the oil tanker “Napapa” spotted the victims some 20 nautical miles (about 37 kilometres) off Koh Pha-ngan’s Rin Beach in Surat Thani at about 1.45pm. It took about an hour to pull everybody up.
The oil tanker’s crew then contacted the Royal Thai Navy to take the rescued sailors back to shore.
The victims were taken to Koh Samui Hospital for a check-up.
Pipat Kruekaew, captain of PL Arthena, said the tugboat had left Surat Thani at 2pm on Friday and was hit by 4-metre high waves and sank at around 4am on Saturday.
“We decided to abandon the boat as water filled the hull and brought the engine to a halt,” he said.
He added that all crew members were safe though some were tired after having been stuck on the sea for many hours.
Strong winds and isolated thundershowers made the Gulf of Thailand very choppy, with high waves since Friday.
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