 About
The King Cruiser Wreck
On the 4th of May 1997,The King Cruiser,
a car ferry operating from Phuket to the Phi Phi Islands in
southern Thailand, hit a submerged collection of rocky pinnacles,
splitting the designated marine sanctuary and popular dive
site in two. The impact also tore a large hole in the vessels
hull limiting its seaworthiness to a further thousand metres.
Seventeen minutes later and remaining in one piece, it was
under thirty metres of water and on the seabed. 561 passengers
were rescued when the ferry boat sank about ten miles off
Phi Phi Island. All the passengers - Thai and foreign tourists
- were safely taken to two police patrol boats and 4-5 fishing
boats, which raced to the rescue in response to an emergency
call. One elderly woman sustained a broken back and several
others suffered shock.
The wreck sits upright in thirty metres of
sand and remains in one piece although the foreword upper
deck has collapsed. The simplest and safest point of entry
is through the vessels stern where divers can explore the
once active car decks. This particular part of the structure
is reached after a descent averaging only ten metres. Machinery
still sits on the deck. Inside the car deck are a couple of
vehicle tyres and an engine trolley. The interior darkens
as you continue through and up one of the stairways on either
side ; patches of chrome peek through the now barnacle covered
handrail. Both of these lead through open doors and out to
walkways.
Perfect reflections of passers by are only
broken up by a bubbles of oil floating on the thin layer of
air below the ceiling. Rows of passenger seats and low coffee
tables fill the inner recesses and do not really look as inviting
as they once were before they were moved below 22 metres of
water. The collapsed foredeck is at 16 metres; there’s
a stack of plastic picnic tables and chairs being enjoyed
by a vertical cloud of snappers using the unlikely structure
to shelter from any ensuing currents. Above this, an air filled
inverted bucket has jamned between a criss cross of horizontal
beams. The upper deck is split from front to back and this
has obviously caused it to collapse; Two funnels act as boundaries
for parrotfish and wrasse as they flit and peck around. It
is obviously a sad occasion for all concerned when an accident
such as this occurs, thankfully no lives were lost. As for
Anemone reef, well, half remains where it always has been,
the remainder is on the mend, not as the once rocky haven
of marine life but as a steel one!. Now the marine sanctuary
has three locations and not just two.
The wreck was first dived by the owner of
Moskito Diving Mr. Heinz Oswald and his team where they carried
out initial investigations and research for Songserm Travel
Centre Company and Ferry Line Plc, the owners of the boat.
Visit also our King Cruiser Photo Gallery
Here
 
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