Specialist shifted after ferry tragedy

The Marine Department has transferred an official at its Nonthaburi office to an inactive post amid allegations she unlawfully granted a licence for the boat that capsized in Ayutthaya last Sunday in an accident that claimed 28 victims.

Hathaikan Phenkun, a marine transport specialist, has been ordered to work at the Ship Registration Bureau for two weeks while the department investigates.

Ms Hathaikan has been accused of extending the boat’s licence even though its owner allegedly did not have insurance, a prerequisite to obtain a boat operating licence, Marine Department chief Sorasak Saensombat said yesterday.

An initial investigation found the boat had been given the licence in June with no insurance, to give protection to passengers, so “it’s evidently a violation of a law”, Mr Sorasak said. The insurance is designed to protect passengers. The department-assigned probe panel has been told to complete its investigation by the end of this month, he said.

The boat owner made an insurance arrangement through a department official acting as a “broker” who was suspected of not paying money to the company, Deputy Marine Department chief Nat Chubchai said.

Sunthorn Phansuethong, owner of the ill-fated vessel, the Sombat Mongkolchai Tabtim, insisted he followed all legal steps to apply for the licence and paid all insurance and licence bills to an official.

Police yesterday charged him with allowing the boat to carry passengers beyond its capacity and failing to have a department-endorsed person to oversee the boat. The officers have also brought five charges, including careless steerage causing deaths, against boat helmsman Wirat Chaisirikun.

The double-decker boat was licensed to carry only 50 passengers, but its operator allowed up to 150 to board the vessel on its trip back from a religious ceremony at a mosque in Ayutthaya. The boat crashed into an embankment at Wat Sanam Chai in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district.