The Royal Thai Navy has monitored the proposed recovery plan for the Raja 4 ship and said if the salvage was found to affect the marine ecosystem such as damage to corals, sea creatures, and sea grass then it is punishable by law and the relevant persons will be responsible.
There is a policy from officials that has ordered the local authorities to closely monitor the recovery of the Raja 4 Ferry including 90 tonnes of waste.
The plan includes:
Coordination with Raja Ferry and the waste handling contractor that is the contractual party with the Koh Samui Municipality by requiring a garbage collection, recovering vehicles, salvaging boats as soon as possible because the garbage in the trucks stuck in the bottom of the boat could escape into the water.
As for the salvage operation, they must be careful not to let the debris fall out and affect the ecosystem.
From a preliminary assessment of the site, the area is muddy, sandy, without corals or seagrass, however, the relevant authorities must monitor and prevent problems while recovering the ship.
The regional environment office has sent personnel to the ground to survey and measure the water quality at the scene of the accident. They are testing to see if the ecosystem of the seawater has changed or not. If there is a change that affects marine life, corals, seagrass and beach areas then the related parties will be liable.
At this time it is confirmed that from the accident on the night of August 1st until today, there has NOT been an effect on the ecosystem and marine life.
NBTC and Mr Witwut Jinto, governor Surat Thani Province have been monitoring and carried out a garbage collection in the Koh Tan area and nearby areas that are a surveillance point where the waste becomes stuck. The past four garbage collections show that it is old garbage that floats in the wind and waves, not new litter that comes out of the debris submerged in the sea.
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