Sompong Sandee is the manager of Samui’s Seatran terminal and he told reporters that the ramp just gave way as the 10-wheeled vehicle was crossing it. He explained that the only thing that saved the cargo of frozen seafood from returning to its ancestors was that the ferry was securely moored and stopped the lorry’s slide.
A crane was used to hoist the lorry to safety, but this operation took several hours and caused disruption to ferry services to and from Surathani on the mainland. Passengers travelling on ferries to Surathani and also Koh Phangan were delayed until normal services resumed.
The truck is owned by Pornpisanu Haulage and was loaded up with 24 tonnes of seafood which had a retail value of around THB1 million. The cargo was scheduled for Don Sak Port on the mainland and then on to Samut Sakhon Province at the top end of the Gulf of Thailand.
Ferries from Chumphon and Surathani are the most convenient and cheapest means of reaching the gulf’s southern islands. Combined ferry and bus or train tickets from 12GO ASIA work out far cheaper than flying directly to Koh Samui with Bangkok Airways.
Weighty seafood lorry breaks loading ramp at Samui ferry port
News in Asia
A lorry laden with seafood proved too heavy for a loading ramp at Koh Samui’s main terminal and caused it to collapse on Friday. About 20 lorries had already crossed the makeshift bridge to the ferry when the incident took place a little after 05:00 in the morning.