Sixteen divers and ten crew members (some reports say 18 divers and 9 crew) were forced to abandon ship in the early hours of Saturday, 12 April, after the scuba diving liveaboard MV DiveRACE Class E caught fire off the coast of Khao Lak.
According to reports in the local media, the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre received a distress call at around 4.15 am, alerting them that the boat was ablaze.
The liveaboard, a 34.5m steel-hulled vessel capable of carrying up 20 divers in ten cabins, was moored overnight in readiness to dive the wreck of the Boonsung, located approximately 13 nautical miles (15 miles/24km) off Khao Lak’s Thap Lamu Pier.
According to a statement by the operator, DiveRACE, a large amount of smoke was discovered coming from the liveaboard’s engine room at 3.30 am. The crew was unable to control the blaze using fire extinguishers, and the decision was made to abandon ship using the Class E’s life rafts.
The Navy was informed, and the passengers and crew were picked up and transferred to Thap Lamu Pier by the liveaboard MV Raga of Smile Dolphin Diving, which was also in the area.
The statement by DiveRACE identifies the source of the fire as the generator that provides electricity to the boat.
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The divers – who are are reportedly from Germany, China and Australia – were given medical checks but none were reported to have serious injuries.
German diver Lukas Bauer, 29, told the Thailand News that the guests were awoken to the sounds of ‘shouting and the smell of burning plastic.’
‘The crew got us off in minutes,’ said Bauer, ‘ No one panicked, but we lost all our gear.’
Witnesses say the fire spread quickly once it took hold. Although Thai Navy patrol boats were quick to arrive at the scene, their water pumps proved ineffective, and the fire burned for around seven hours before a specialist firefighting vessel was able to extinguish the blaze using foam suppressant.
The liveaboard eventually sank at around 11.30 am.
Dive trips to the Boonsung and nearby reefs have been suspended while the incident is investigated. Authorities are monitoring the area for fuel and oil leaks which may threaten the nearby coral reefs.
The fire follows one month after the death of British woman Alexandra Clarke, 26, who was killed when the dive boat she was on board caught fire off the coast of Koh Tao in March.
The DiveRACE Class E fire will raise yet more questions over liveaboard safety, after a series of disastrous incidents over the last few years, particularly in Egypt and Indonesia, which have resulted in the loss of at least 15 lives.
‘This is the third liveaboard fire in five years,’ said Sanga Ruangwattanakul of the Thai Dive Operators Association. ‘We need stricter inspections—these boats are essentially floating hotels.’
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