News Forum - Thailand marine officials look into building cruise ship terminal on Koh Samui

[Thaiger]

Marine officials in Thailand are looking into building a cruise ship terminal on Koh Samui, a popular Gulf of Thailand island off the Surat Thani coast. A terminal is considered to be more convenient and safe for travellers as, at the moment, cruise ships must anchor by the island and smaller boats transfer travellers to the island and back to the ship. A feasibility study is being launched by the Marine Department. The department has chosen a potential location of Laem Hin Khom in tambon Taling Ngam which is on the southwest tip of Koh Samui, which has waters deep […]

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[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

33 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

Before the pandemic, cruise ships visited Koh Samui 59 times,

Since 1974?

[Shark]

TiT

Everybody is back in this game called let's get money quickly.

However if anywhere I would re-purpose the just removed Nathon Pier.... it's next to Seatran Ferry which means the waters are quiet deep there as well... 

But... let's see how this goes.

[Prosaap]

The combination qouverment prived sector make it sure the envelopes keep flowing 

[palooka]

Officials are looking into a public-private partnership model to fund the construction,

What are the odds it will be a new Thai company that if you look into in depth you will find Chinese. ZJP and his Belts & Roads program loves deep water wharfs.

[Alavan]

Crazy.
Building a quay/pier/terminal just for cruiseships is throwing money in the water.
Building costs will be so high that you need a constant daily use by those ships to make a profit.
What are the harbour dues and taxes? How much do the passengers spend on the Island?
 

[Paulw]

A cruise ship pier incorporating a boat marina would be very good for Koh Samui tourism, we need to establish a safe haven for both travelling yachts, local cruise operators and local boat owners. A sure way of attracting wealthy sea travellers to call in and even moor their vessels long term. 

[Paulw]

On 3/16/2022 at 5:24 PM, Alavan said:

Crazy.
Building a quay/pier/terminal just for cruiseships is throwing money in the water.
Building costs will be so high that you need a constant daily use by those ships to make a profit.
What are the harbour dues and taxes? How much do the passengers spend on the Island?
 

Nathong  was serviving on those infrequent cruise ships, the passengers spent plenty whilst on land including tours etc etc. A proper facility would benefit local business, day tours, taxis and market sellers as well as eating houses & bars. 

[Paulw]

My thoughts are it should be run by private enterprise to avoid further corruption which is the way forward if Thailands serious about improving their image and attracting wealthier tourists. 

[Alavan]

12 hours ago, Paulw said:

Nathong  was serviving on those infrequent cruise ships, the passengers spent plenty whilst on land including tours etc etc. A proper facility would benefit local business, day tours, taxis and market sellers as well as eating houses & bars. 

I guess you don't know the cost of building a pier/Quay. That is OK for ports like Miami or some other ones in the Caribean, who got 2 or 3 daily berthings, but for Thailand???
 I was chief harbour master in an Europezan port which got more than 120 cruise vessels a year, and we never built facilities for that. Why? Because the cost of that quay could never been returned by what cruise vessels brought us. 15 years ago, 1 meter of quay building cost already more than 1 m Euro. Only recently we built a cruise building (customs, immighration...) on an excisting quay.
Negotiating with cruise companies is shit. They want everything for free or discounted. They make theit money selling organised shore excursions, not individual passengers leaving the ship to take a cab.
A company like the Costa cruises (well "known") wanted even that the port paid for the transport from the ship to the city center (for those not going on an organised excursion).

Edited March 19, 2022 by Alavan

[Paulw]

16 hours ago, Alavan said:

I guess you don't know the cost of building a pier/Quay. That is OK for ports like Miami or some other ones in the Caribean, who got 2 or 3 daily berthings, but for Thailand???
 I was chief harbour master in an Europezan port which got more than 120 cruise vessels a year, and we never built facilities for that. Why? Because the cost of that quay could never been returned by what cruise vessels brought us. 15 years ago, 1 meter of quay building cost already more than 1 m Euro. Only recently we built a cruise building (customs, immighration...) on an excisting quay.
Negotiating with cruise companies is shit. They want everything for free or discounted. They make theit money selling organised shore excursions, not individual passengers leaving the ship to take a cab.
A company like the Costa cruises (well "known") wanted even that the port paid for the transport from the ship to the city center (for those not going on an organised excursion).

Yes take your point and your previous experience but we are not in Europe and costs are worlds apart between Europe & Thailand. If you have an ideal natural reef setting its very cost effective especially if the water is not too deep like in the Gulf of Thailand, I know 2 places on Samui that are almost already natural marina's.

[Alavan]

Building a quay on a natural reef... good luck. What about environment, underwater fauna & flora, ecologists...
And you need a waterdepth of at least 10 meter alongside plus 12 meters (15% keel clearance) in the dredged channel to the quay (plus turning circle). A lot of (continuous) dredging involved.