PIC affiliate, Troy Williams OK in Phuket

Between 9am Sunday, when the tsunamis first hit a broad arc of the Indian Ocean, and Monday morning, when he finally established contact with the Laguna Beach Resort in Phuket, Pacific Island Club general manager Kieran Daly spent several nerve-wracking hours trying to find out what had happened to their guests and employees at their affiliate hotel in Thailand.

He managed to breathe a sigh of relief, though, when he got through and found out that none of the Laguna Beach Resort’s guests and employees was among the tsunamis’ victims. He also learned that the resort-hotel was not as badly damaged.

“They’re very lucky that all guests and employees are accounted for,” he said. “So far, only 14 rooms are currently not saleable.”

Interpacific Resort, which owns the Pacific Island Club on Saipan, has a 50-percent share in the Laguna Beach Resort property on Phuket Island. This expansion of the company’s property holdings was due to the thriving growth of tourism in Phuket.

According to Daly, he learned from the resort hotel’s management that everyone was shocked at the sight of the rampaging ocean water that surged right up to the hotel. “Water came up to some of the rooms,” he said.

“People who were walking along the beach when the tide had drifted out got caught in the surge but none of the resort guests were affected,” Daly affirmed. “Everybody is safe and sound. They’ve got food supplies.”

He said that, fortunately, the hotel management team was in the area, which made it possible for the resort to immediately revert back to normal operation. Apart from the 14 rooms that are still being fixed, the resort pools have already been restored.

If Laguna Beach Resort was spared, such was not the case with a neighboring hotel, the Le Meridian, which, based on reports, was tremendously affected by the natural disaster, said Daly.

Saipan’s Troy Williams OK

Pacific Subsea Inc., a Saipan-based corporation that provides submarine tours and which had recently expanded to Phuket, Thailand, was also spared, with Troy Williams calling the Saipan office to assure that he and their guests were okay.

Jack McClure, vice president of Pacific SubSea Inc. on Saipan, said that he received a call from Williams, manager of their Phuket office, several hours after the incident. Lines have been cut, making it difficult to communicate outside Phuket island.

McClure said that Williams assured him that he was not affected by the deadly waves since he works offshore and does not travel with guests inside the submarine.

“I can tell you that he [Williams] has reported to us, that there was no loss of lives,” said McClure. “The submarine was also okay. There was no loss of life among our passengers.”

He said that when the tidal waves occurred, their submarine was not in the water. Even if it was, he said that would be one of the safest places to be in Phuket when the tragedy occurred—inside the submarine.

As for the impact of the tragedy, he said: “We did have some flooding on the street in front of our office about three to four feet and we might have lost one support boat. We’re assessing right now what our future plans will be; we haven’t come to a conclusion yet,” McClure said, “We’re still receiving more information. We’re still deciding what we’re going to do.”

Pacific Subsea Inc. expanded to Phuket two-and-a-half years ago but the Phuket Submarine Ltd. only began operations in April this year. Much like on Saipan, the company gives tourists an underwater look at the Indian Ocean.

The company’s expansion was brought about by the booming tourism industry on Phuket Island. McClure said that the firm was looking for a more vibrant market than what Saipan had. “We saw a lot of potential in Phuket. There’s a lot of tourists visiting Phuket,” he said. (Marconi Calindas)