Following a deal brokered in June 2011 after a series of blockades of the port by black taxis, custom from the Navy was split between the local taxi club and a bus company, Blue Sea.
Last night, Blue Sea threatened to cut off their service providing a shuttle service from the port to Patong because they had not been paid by the US Navy’s preferred facilitator, Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), which has its headquarters in Singapore.
This morning, having been paid only a small amount of what he said was owed, Blue Sea’s owner, Aree Kumban, suspended the service, which provided free transport for sailors.
He alleged that GDMA owes his company around B5.5 million – B3.5 million from last October when the aircraft carrier USS Stennis stopped in Phuket, and another B2 million so far for the current visit of the Stennis’s sister ship, the USS Nimitz.
This morning, GDMA apparently tried to hire another bus company to shuttle the sailors, but black taxi drivers promptly barred any bus other than those “registered” with the taxi club from coming into the port.
The local Phu Yai Baan, Narong Kumban, a relative of Mr Aree, told The Phuket News, “If we allow just anyone to come in here when we don’t know who they are, then if anything happens to the passengers, it will be difficult to place blame. We [local taxi club] might be blamed for letting them in.”
Mr Aree said that he had had some discussions over the phone with GDMA, but now his phone calls were going unanswered. “I’m going to put it in the hands of my lawyers now,” he said.
The Phuket News twice called Pornpun Settaphakorn, general manager of GDMA Thailand, for her response to Mr Aree’s allegations. On both occasions she declined to comment.
In the meantime the sailors from the USS Nimitz are deprived of their free shuttle service and are having to pay local taxis and minivans to get to and from Patong.