Mr Sukmanop spoke to reporters after meeting with national transport-minister Prajin Juntong. He said the government was weighing up whether the Chon Buri port would be better located at Sattahip or Si Racha and also what infrastructure would need to be built to service the ferries.
The marine chief continued by saying that for its part Siam Eastern was working out possible schedules and what it would need to charge for tickets. He added that the company had proposed a vehicle ferry service with a capacity of 100 cars and 400 foot passengers.
Mr Sukmanop concluded by saying that assessments should be completed during July and if the route got the green light ferries could be operational during the first months of 2016. As a codicil, he noted that Siam Eastern had claimed its ferries would be able to cross the gulf in five to six hours.
Travelling between Pattaya and Koh Samui takes at least 10 hours and can be up to 20 hours. It invariably involves a bus or train journey to Bangkok and then changing to another service, using the same mode of transport, for Surathani. From there it is a short ferry trip to Samui. 12GO Asia provides ease and reliability for passengers buying train, bus and ferry tickets in Thailand.
New Gulf of Thailand ferry service in the offing
News in Asia
The head of Thailand’s Marine Department says that a private company is interested in establishing a new ferry route across the Gulf of Thailand. Chula Sukmanop said Siam Eastern Logistics Terminals had proposed introducing a route linking the southern island of Koh Samui and the Chon Buri area around Pattaya.