Panic at sea: the story of how we hit and sank a fishing boat
Fisherman tries to tie rope to sinking boat moments after being struck by the "Happy Boat".
HEY! HEY! HEY!
*CRACK*
Our tourist guide puts his hands on the sides of his head and slides his fingers through his hair. He is speechless. In horror he watches as our boat strikes two fishing vessels full of shell fish and squid.
I barely had time to understand what was going on in the middle of all that screaming. Because of my journalistic instinct, my first reaction was to grab my iPhone and start taking pictures.
I was coming back from visiting Koh Rong island off the coast of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, with the "Happy Boat" tour group. It was around 4pm and I was tired from a long day of snorkeling and swimming, just like the other 10 or so other people on the boat. It was that time of day where everyone is so tired they can't even speak.
I remember noticing the captain wasn't at the wheel. It was one of the younger kids that worked on the boat. I looked at the scene and thought to myself "that would be a nice picture. Nah, no camera today, I'm on vacation." So I let it slide. Looking back, I wish I had taken the photo.
We had just left the island ten minutes earlier. I was looking starboard at the island when I hear voices screaming. We were heading straight towards two fishing boats that where anchored and tied together so they wouldn't drift away from their fishing spot.
When the alert came we were less than 20 meters away from them. The captain reverses the engine but there was no time for anything.
I hear the crack. There was no bang. It reminded me of the sound of a tree cracking in half from tornado winds in the midwestern USA.
Panic set in.
The fishing boat starts to take water. We throw them a rope and one guy starts tying it to their boat while the others start transferring stuff quickly to the other ship. I notice there is a fisherman in the water on the opposite side, he must have jumped on impact.
"No madam, you can't see it, it's in the bottom of the ocean", says the tour guide when he calls the Australian owner of the Speed Ferry tour agency. He looks at the bubbles coming from the fishing boat now at the bottom of the ocean just below us.
The fishing boat disappears underwater in seconds. I froze. I just stood there looking without knowing what to do trying to understand what just happened.
All that was left were bubbles coming from the boat now lying on the sand beneath us. Little by little pieces of cloth and plastic items come floating back to the surface and are taken by the currents. Soon there was stuff floating everywhere. Then came the oil stains.
Fishermen desperately hold on to their coolers full of squid that were quickly taken from the sinking boat. Even after such a tragic loss, they were worried about their catch. Every few minutes someone would add sea water to the boxes. They still needed to make a sale that day. That's how they make a living. That's how they eat.
The fisherman are able to save some of their catch and a few items.
One fisherman grabs his radio. "Mayday! Maday!" is all I'm able to understand. They call the help of other fishing boats in the area. I'm sure they alert the Coast Guard too.
The first boat is gone. The panic gives place to a different type of tension. They yell at us. I can only assume these were insults, well deserved I may add. It was our captain's fault no shadow of a doubt. The captain comes up to the front of the boat and talks to them. Within the situation, everything was ok.
I was very surprised at how everything was handled. There was tension, of course, but everything was taken care of in an orderly fashion. No fights, no arguments, just talking.
Another boat that was close by responds to help calls and shows up 10 minutes after the accident.
Gas and oil stains start to become evident in the ocean waters.
The first boat that shows up starts collecting floating items and returning them to the surviving ship.
Soon two more fishing boats appear. A lot more talking is done.
Tourist and crewmen watch fishermen scramble as the captain talks on the phone. I don't know who he was talking to.
While all this is going on, we just look. Can't understand a word of Khmer. No one translates anything. We have no idea of what will happen or how long we would stay.
I ask one of the Cambodian tourists to translate what is happening. She says that they tried to negotiate to leave and take us back, but the fishermen didn't want to. Of course they needed the boat to stay to ensure some kind of compensation.
Finally we get the news, through the tourist, that a speed boat would pick us up.
Happy Boat captain talks to distressed fishermen while tourists wait without knowing what's going on.
We can only imagine what was going through their mind in that moment. I overheard that insurance only paid 70% of all costs and that the crew would have to pay the rest. I really hope this is not true.
The boy that was behind the wheel when the accident happened sat quietly. He didn't say a word. He just stared blank at the floor with water in his eyes.
This poor kid was behind the wheel. He should have seen the boats. He made a mistake, he should pay the price. He may lose his job, but I'm afraid he may have to pay more than that. I hope they don't make him pay for damages. I don't think he could afford it.
Crewman lowers his head silently as we wait for the speed boat to come.
The surviving fishing boat and two others make a triangle marking the spot of the shipwreck in hopes of rescuing something or maybe just as proof for the Coast Guard.
Fisherman gives the Happy Boat captain a look. They didn't seem angry to me, just sad and scared.
We transfer to the speed boat and leave the Happy Boat behind. Soon I would be at the hotel.
After over an hour a speed boat arrives. A woman quickly hops on the Happy Boat and goes check the damage done to her boat. I think she's the owner.
We transfer to the speed boat, crew stays on board waiting for the coast guard.
Not because of the accident itself, but how the second team treated us passengers, I advise agains using this company's services. They already have a terrible score on Trip Advisor and it should be worse.
... and that's the story of my first - and hopefully last - shipwreck.