Pattaya deputy mayor leads cleanup of sunken docking buoysLegacyIn a move aimed at restoring order to Pattaya’s troubled boating sector, the deputy mayor has led a team to collect sunken buoys from a failed docking project, a cleanup effort long overdue since tropical storm Vamco wreaked havoc on the area 10 years ago. Yesterday, June 25, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya City Manoch Nongyai and officials from the Pattaya Natural Resources and Environment Office oversaw the operation at Bali Hai Cape in South Pattaya. The goal: to remove the sunken buoys from the Smart Boat Docking Project, a 300-million-baht initiative intended to create a hydraulic docking area for over 300 boats. The project, which was supposed to enhance the city’s marine tourism and serve as a hub for tourist boats, suffered a severe setback when the Vamco tropical depression struck in 2015, causing significant damage and sinking many of the buoys. The result was a disruption in docking services, forcing speedboat and passenger boat operators to complain about their inability to dock properly, further affecting tourism. “These buoys were originally part of a pier that Pattaya City had contracted for construction. However, after the Wamko storm, the pier was almost destroyed,” Manoch explained. “A lawsuit was filed against the contractor, but the court ruled that they were not at fault, leaving Pattaya City unable to secure further funds to continue the project.” Today, backhoes are used to scoop up as many of the sunken buoys as possible from the sea. Manoch revealed that a barge or large transport ship might be used to lift any remaining debris, which has caused ongoing problems for boat operators trying to dock at the pier, reported MGR Online. “The buoys will be stored at the Pattaya National Stadium on Soi Chaiyaphruek for the time being, as we have over 200 of them,” said the deputy mayor. “In the future, we may sell them to government agencies that could find them useful.” The operation marks an important step towards improving Pattaya’s maritime infrastructure, and officials are hopeful that the cleanup will alleviate the docking challenges that have long plagued the city’s boat operators. While the Smart Boat Docking Project may be a lost cause, the cleanup of the sunken buoys shows that Pattaya is still committed to ensuring a smooth operation for its tourism-dependent boat sector. The story Pattaya deputy mayor leads cleanup of sunken docking buoys as seen on Thaiger News.