MS King Cruiser

MS King Cruiser was a car ferry of that sank off the West Coast of Southern Thailand on 4 May 1997.

The ferry was operating between Phuket and the Phi Phi Islands in southern Thailand when she hit a submerged collection of rocky pinnacles at Anemone Reef, 10 miles off Phi Phi Island. The impact tore a large hole in the hull, and the vessel sank within two and a half hours.^[1]

All 561 passengers – including both Thai locals and foreign tourists – were rescued. They were picked up by the two police patrol boats and four or five fishing boats which had raced to the rescue in response to an emergency call. One elderly woman sustained a broken back and several others suffered shock.

Causes of the sinking

The ferry was on a regular crossing in normal conditions, and the Anemone Reef was charted and well known by captains in the area. This has led to various unproven theories as to why the accident occurred. Theories include insurance fraud due to the owners experiencing financial difficulties on the unprofitable route, and also that local dive companies paid the captain to sink the vessel as, up until that time, there were no wreck dives around Phuket.^[2] The captain was found to be negligent.^[3]

Recreational dive site

The vessel is now a popular recreational dive site and acts as an artificial reef to complement the Anemone Reef. The vessel sits upright on a sandy bottom in around 30m of water. Originally the shallowest part of the wreck rose to ~10m, but today most of the superstructure is collapsed making the shallowest part of the wreck currently deeper than 16m.

The wreck remains largely in one piece, although the upper deck has collapsed. The simplest and safest point of entry is through the vessel's stern, where divers can explore the once active car decks. Machinery still sits on the deck. Inside the car deck are a couple of vehicle tyres and an engine trolley. Rows of passenger seats and low coffee tables fill the inner recesses. The collapsed foredeck is at 18 metres, where there is a stack of plastic picnic tables and chairs often surrounded by a cloud of snappers. The upper deck is split from front to back.

Within and around the wreck there is lots of coral growth and an abundance of fish. Soft corals can be found growing along the sides and top of the wreck. Schools of bigeye trevally are often spotted circling above the captain's cabin. Large schools of yellow snapper hang around the entrances to the car deck and along the remains of the upper deck, and lionfish can be seen dotted around the wreck. There are also occasional encounters with zebra sharks and bamboo sharks, barracuda and turtles.

References

External links

• Diagram of the wreck showing collapsed sections
• Briefing map, photos, dive logs, location on google map and more...

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1997 Shipwrecks 5 Mar: Vikartindur 26 Mar: Cita 4 May: King Cruiser 17 Nov: Constitution Dec: Catalina 1996 1998