Towed to a watery grave

A popular tourist river craft, the RV Saigon Pandaw sank off the Malaysian coast, late December, while under tug tow from Ho Chi Minh City to Yangon its owners reported.
According to the owner’s statement there were no casualties as no one was on-board the vessel when it sank 21 December.
“We are still awaiting the results of the official investigation, but we are told that the hull was swamped with water and capsized in heavy seas,” the statement read.
Built in Vietnam in 2000, Saigon Pandaw, was about to be renamed Sagaing for a series of sailings on rivers in Myanmar in response to heavy bookings for river cruises by foreign tourists.
The vessel had been successfully towed across the South China Sea and past Singapore before the tug encountered heavy seas near Malaysia that swamped the towed river boat.
Generally river ferries and cruisers have a shallow draft to navigate river channels. Sailing them in the open sea is a risky undertaking and time consuming as the tow boat has to complete close as possible to land.
“We have contacted all passengers booked and have the space in other ships to relocate them, but if not convenient, passengers will be refunded the full amounts paid,” the cruise company explained.
The company has two new ships under construction to meet growing demand for river cruise expeditions in Myanamr, the company’s founder,Paul Strachan reported.

Sourced: ttrweekly