.: Blog News

February 2009

Manta Madness

Loads of Mantas and excellent Visibiluty at Koh Bon in the Similan National Park

November 2008

New Artificial reef Arrives

MAI KHAO: Amidst great fanfare, a convoy of 15 flatbed trucks loaded with the remains of 10 decommissioned military aircraft arrived at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint at 2 pm on Sunday after a three-day overland journey that began in Lopburi. The convoy departed from Koke Krathiem Air Force Base in Lopburi with the partly disassembled aircraft on Friday. The arrival of the four Douglas C-47 Dakota Skytrain military transport aircraft and six Sikorsky S-58T helicopters marks the penultimate leg of their final journey before they are sunk in the waters off Bang Tao.

On May 5, the aircraft skeletons are to be dropped into the sea about a kilometer off Bang Tao Beach to create an artificial reef in the hope that it will attract marine life and become a popular new dive site. The aging aircraft, which have been dubbed the “Coral Reef Squadron”, are US-built and served in the Vietnam and Korean Wars, during which Thailand was used as a strategic base for operations during its Cold War fight against communism.

At a depth of about 15 to 20 meters, the aircraft will be arranged in a concentric pattern with two helicopters in the middle. These will be surrounded by an alternating circle of airplane and helicopter fuselages. The wings of the aircraft were clipped at about mid-length and the rotors removed from the helicopters. All dangerous and/or toxic components of the mostly-aluminum remains were removed at the air base before being transported. The entire arrangement, to cover about 2,500 square meters, will sit near an abandoned offshore tin-mining sledge.