Phuket’s one-stop yacht center trial period hits first software snag

PHUKET: The long-awaited, 70-million-baht one-stop yacht center at Chalong Pier opened on Monday only to see system bugs force officers to register all inbound yachts and crews by hand.

“Monday was our first trial day for the center, and we had a lot of tourists come to Chalong Pier,” explained Phuket Provincial Administration Office Transportation Division Chief Prasit Yotharak.

“We soon realized that our system had many bugs, and the yachts [and crews] had to wait a long time to check in. It went very slowly because we had to register them one-by-one in hard copy.”

Officers involved in the check-in process, such as immigration, customs and the harbor master, moved into their new offices last week (story here).

“I think the check-in system is the problem,” said Mr Prasit. “I will talk with the Software Industry Promotion Agency [SIPA] to figure out how we can solve the problem.

“Meanwhile, our officers will do their best to serve yachts arriving to the pier.”

— Woranut Pechdee