Mammoth rescue operation to save old Thai boat sinking in Benalmádena marina

Lorena Cádiz

Benalmádena

Monday, 29 July 2024, 13:26

The Waree Sumrarn has a long history behind it. Built in teak in the 1930s, it is of Thai origin. It was designed as a rice cargo ship to transport rice along the Chao Phraya river. That was the purpose for which it was created, although its life has been quite different. The vessel, 16 metres long and weighing around 30 tonnes, was imported to Spain as part of a marketing plan. The original idea was that it would act as a novel showroom to sell real estate projects in Thailand.

It is not known whether its first stop in Spain was Benalmádena or whether it arrived on the Costa del Sol after having visited other Spanish coasts. The fact is that for many years the wooden boat was part of the landscape of Puerto Marina because it occupied a privileged place, on a mooring in front of the pedestrian promenade of the port, where all the restaurants and shops are located.

It is also not known if it ever became a real estate ambassador in Benalmádena for its homeland , what is known is that a few years ago it was for sale for just under 100,000 euros, and that it was currently adapted to be a home, although it had not been lived in for some time and its state of maintenance was far from adequate.

On the 14 July, the Waree Sumrarn began to sink. Little by little it began to fill with water, coinciding with the celebrations of the Veladilla del Carmen in the same area. On Friday 26 July, fourteen days after the sinking began, teams managed to get it afloat again after a long and complicated rescue operation.

According to José Luis Bergillos, councillor for the port, the first to act were the divers who patched the areas of wood which had rotted and through which the water had begun to seep in. Three pumps had to work day and night to refloat the boat. Five other craft were then needed to drag it from where it was moored to the main channel and from there to the dry dock area, where a large crane was needed to finally bring it ashore.

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Bergillos explained that the whole operation was carried out with the knowledge of the owner, who, although is abroad, was informed of the sinking, and that it will be the owner who will have to pay all the expenses arising from this situation. He also considered that despite the incident, the ship can be treated and recovered because although there are parts of the wood that are rotten, these can be repaired.