All 18 containers on a barge fell overboard after encountering a storm en route in the Andaman Sea from Kantang, Thailand to Penang, Malaysia, on 29 May.
The barge, Namthong 27, is owned and operated by YKP Ocean Line, part of Thai logistics provider Yusob Kantang Port (YKP) Group. At the time of the accident, Namthong 27 was being towed towards Penang by the tug Fortune II.
The barge was 0.4 nautical miles from Petra Marine Park in Satun province when the storm struck. As the containers, loaded with rubberwood, fell into the water, the crew radioed for help.
According to Thai Marine Enforcement Command, five containers were found on a beach on Koh Sarai off Satun, while eight more were spotted by fishermen off Langkawi island in Malaysia.
YKP Ocean Line has despatched two tugs, YKP Karishma from Kantang and YKP Marine from Penang, to recover the remaining containers. The Thai marine enforcement authorities have also alerted other ships in the vicinity to look out for the containers as these could also pose navigational hazards.
It is the second accident involving a container barge in three days. On 26 May, a dozen containers fell overboard when the Marcopolo 188 barge, listed severely and almost sank in the waters off Karimun Regency, Riau Islands (Kepri), Indonesia.
Nearly a year ago, another of YKP Ocean Line’s barges, Namthong 39, ran aground on Koh Phra Thong island off the Andaman sea, while carrying boxes from Myanmar to Indonesia.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
