The fire onboard started at about 8am yesterday (Aug 8), and quickly blazed beyond firefighters ability to control. (See story here.)
The yacht was initially moved some 500 metres from the marina for safety as it was carrying at least 3,000 litres of fuel on board, officials confirmed last night.
Attempts to extinguish the blaze continued, but to no avail.
The Lady D was moved further from the marina last night and now rests off Koh Thanan, some three kilometers north- northeast from the marina. (See map below.)
The scorched hull of the boat was still smouldering this morning, firefighters told The Phuket News.
“The fire was finally completely extinguished at about 8:30am today (Aug 8). We were unable to extinguish the blaze fully overnight,” one firefighter from Patong Municipality called in to help explained.
Lt Col Wutthichai Kaewthong of the Thalang Police said that Forensic Science will board the boat to begin their investigation into the fire at about 2pm today.
“At this stage we have no idea of the extent or the cost of damage to the boat, or what started the fire, as we have not yet been able to board the boat until this morning,” he said.
“We are exhausted from providing support from yesterday and throughout the night, and we could not board the boat an earlier as it was still too dangerous to do so,” he added.
Col Wutthichai assured that although the Lady D is still carrying a large volume of fuel, it had now been moved to a safe location.
“There is still a lot of fuel on board the boat. We will figure out with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) about what to do with this today,” he said.
Meanwhile, Phuket Marine Office Chief Wiwat Chitchertwong arrived to inspect the boat at about 9am today.
“The value of the damage done is about B240 million, according to what we have heard from the marina,” Chief Wiwat told The Phuket News.
“After the investigators have finished inspecting the boat, I will co-ordinate with the owner of the boat and have it safely moved to a boatyard,” Mr Wiwat said.
Of note, international boating website Yacht Harbour reported, that as of April 2019, the vessel was listed for sale asking €5 million via Fraser. (See report here.)
Currently, the yacht is listed by Fraser as “Currently not unavailable”. (See here.)