Southern Thailand News

At least 32 ethnic Rohingya died on a ship that drifted for weeks after it failed to reach Malaysia, Bangladesh coast guard officials said on Thursday, following the rescue of 396 starving survivors.A human rights group said it believed more boats carrying Rohingya - a Muslim minority - were adrift at sea, with coronavirus lockdowns in Malaysia and Thailand making it harder for them to find refuge."They were at sea for about two months and were starving," a Bangladesh coastguard official told Reuters in a message…

Thailand suspended efforts on Thursday to salvage a boat that capsized and sank off its resort island of Phuket, officials said, putting the death toll in its worst tourist-related disaster in years at 46.The Phoenix had 101 on board, including 89 tourists, all but two of them from China, when it went down in rough seas last Thursday during an outing to a small island. Forty-two passengers and the crew of a dozen Thais were rescued.The salvage operation was suspended because the boat lay deep and currents were rough, Phuket police commander Teerapol Tipcharoen told reporters.Divers would retrieve a final body from the shipwreck when weather conditions permit…

Thailand is increasing its planned long-term imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to meet rising demand after delays to the construction of coal-fired power plants, a senior official at energy ministry said on Wednesday. Energy policy makers have revised their target of LNG imports to 17.4 million tonnes in 2022 and reaching 34 million tonnes a year by 2036, up from earlier planned 23 million tonnes, Twarath Sutabutr, Director-General of the ministry's Energy Policy and Planning Office, told a news conference. "Natural gas supplies in the Gulf of Thailand will drop in the future. Thailand needs to accelerate LNG imports," Twarath said, adding the plan was subject to final approval from the national energy policy committee next month.

A report in the Straits Times Vietnam is set to build a US$2.5 billion seaport in Ca Mau, its southernmost province, hoping to steal some spotlight away from the more popular regional hubs Singapore and Malaysia and could be a clue to Kra Canal. Vietnam announced that it would build a US$2.5 billion deep-water seaport, named Hon Khoai Port, on an island 17km off the coast of Ca Mau, Vietnam's southern-most province. The project was approved by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The decision to build the portdoes not really make complete economic sense - until it is superimposed on the potentially heady commercial traffic the Kra Canal stands to provide.

Myanmar's navy found a boat carrying more than 200 Bangladeshis, the government said on Friday, after the military chief said some migrants landing in Malaysia and Indonesia this month are pretending to be Rohingya Muslims so they can get U.N. aid. The western Myanmar state of Rakhine said the boat was from Thailand and the people smugglers' plan had been to send the migrants to Thailand. The remarks are sure to spark concern after the United States lambasted Myanmar this week for failing to address the cause of the crisis, which observers say stems from Myanmar's refusal to recognise the Rohingya, an ethnic minority group living in western Myanmar, as citizens. Most of Myanmar's 1.1 million Rohingya are stateless and live in apartheid-like conditions.

China has denied it is involved in work on the Kra canal, defusing hype over a project that purportedly lets ships bypass the Strait of Malacca and Singapore's port, reports Strait Times. There are no plans by the Chinese government to participate, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a regular press briefing. Earlier,  Chinese embassy in Thailand, which said that China has not taken part in any study or co-operation on the matter. This comes after Chinese media recently reported that China and Thailand had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Guangzhou to build a US$28 billion (S$37 billion) canal that cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Kra in southern Thailand.

Thailand and China have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Guangzhou to jointly cut a shipping passage across Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand, the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula. The canal, located at Kra Isthmus, will enable ships to bypass the Malacca Strait so as to shorten their voyage by 1,200 km. The canal will be 102 km long, 400 meters wide and 25 meters deep. Unlike the Suez Canal the Kra Canal does not exist yet. For centuries, the Thais have been mulling about the possibility of building a deep-water canal cutting through Thailand’s long peninsula to link the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea. Observers say that Kra Canal could be a reality in 10 years at the cost of US$210 billion.

Malaysia detained more than a thousand Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugees, including dozens of children, police said, a day after authorities rescued hundreds stranded off the coast of Indonesia's western tip. There has been a huge increase in refugees from impoverished Bangladesh and Myanmar drifting on boats to Malaysia and Indonesia in recent days after Thailand, usually the initial destination in the region's people smuggling network, announced a crackdown on the trafficking. Over 100 refugees from these countries were found wandering around in southern Thailand last week, apparently after they were abandoned by the smugglers. An estimated 25…

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) says it is expanding its network of supply points across Asia as it responds to an increasing level of offshore oil and gas exploration and production. The first new WSS supply point, at Songkhla, southern Thailand opened in January 2014 and other locations have been identified to enable WSS to work closer to areas of emerging demand. New supply sites are under consideration in Kemaman, Malaysia, Balikpapan, Indonesia and in Myanmar. Countries including Malaysia…

Freight Management Holdings Bhd (FMH) is targeting a double-digit growth in net profit for the financial year ending June 30, 2007. This is due to its new barge business and consistent contribution from its sea freight business. The company had in February acquired a 51% stake in Singapore-based TCH Marine Pte Ltd, paving the way for it to enter the barge and tugboat business. TCH is a provider of barge and tugboats, servicing the freighting of bulk raw materials between southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Freight Management was expecting TCH’s earnings contribution to its consolidated group performance to be more significant beyond its current financial year. With the addition of the newly launched 240-ft. barge TCH now has five barges.

Just when you think all safety measures are in place, a stray snake enters the picture to muck up the works. A natural gas facility in southern Thailand was brought to a standstill by a blackout blamed on a snake. A plant pumping liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the southern Thai province of Songkhla to Malaysia had to suspend operations after its electricity system was downed by a stray boa constrictor. The reptile caused a short circuit in the system by wrapping around an electricity transmission line and clamping down on a high-voltage transformer. (Source: RIA Novosti)

Thailand is expected to begin construction soon of a $21.2 billion canal from the Indian Ocean to the Gulf of Thailand which would allow ships to bypass Malaysia and Singapore, Reuters reported. Thai Science Minister Arthit Urairath was quoted as saying the Kra Canal could start in the next three years. It quoted other officials, academics and bankers as saying the project could be approved as early as this year. Plans for a canal across the narrow strip of southern Thailand north of peninsula Malaysia have been under consideration for many decades but the idea has always been shelved on grounds of cost or risk to the environment.But Arthit said there was no longer any real objection to the project which he said would benefit the whole country.

Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai has denied reports that the government plans to build a canal across southern Thailand, bypassing the Malacca Straits shipping lane. He said that while the construction of the canal, estimated at $21.2 billion, is still being studied, it is not a simple issue and requires more research before a decision will be made.

Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai has denied reports the government plans to build a canal across southern Thailand, bypassing the busy Malacca Straits shipping lane, as reported in last week's Maritime Week. He said that while the idea is still being studied, the construction of a canal is not a simple issue and no decision has been made. If the study found it feasible to construct the canal, the country might build it, he said. It is estimated that the project would cost about $21.2 billion and take six years to complete. Proponents of the canal claim it would bring huge economic benefits and could threaten Singapore's position as the region's leading port.