The boats, Unity 2 and Unity 3, belonging to Unity Co and both about 40 tons, were moored at a pier the company uses in the Chi Lat river in Baan Klong Hin, Krabi, when the fire broke out.
The blaze is believed have been caused by an electrical short – while moored, the boats were hooked up to mains power from shore.
The alarm was raised at 4am when fire began to rip through the Unity 2, rapidly spreading to the Unity 3.
Surasak Mongkolchaiyakit of Krabi Marine Department told The Phuket News that he understood that a member of the company’s staff spotted the fire and, fearing there might be an explosion, cut the mooring lines to allow the boats to drift away from the pier and float downstream on the outgoing tide.
At about 4:30am the company called the police to inform them about the problem.
Krabi marine police went out to check the fire bt they did not dare get too close because they had been told there might portable gas canisters in among the cargo scheduled for delivery later in the day to Phi Phi.
An attempt to put out the blaze using fire engines from the local municipality was doomed to failure, as the blazing boats were by now about 700 metres offshore, so volunteers from the local Marine Rescue Team were sent out on a Marine Department boat to tackle the flames.
It took them about two hours to put out the blaze.
“I was afraid that the fuel from the boats might be leaking everywhere and cause an environmental disaster,” Mr Surasak told The Phuket News. “Fortunately, however, the owner only fills the tanks day to day, so there was not much fuel on board and the fire consumed all of it.
“I ordered the company to drag the wreckage of the boats out of the way as soon as possible and put hazard buoys around them, with flashing lights at night so that no one crashes into them.”