Standing on the beach at the Similan Islands, coffee cup in hand, I looked at what was left of a rubber dinghy — torn apart and thrown deep into the forest by the force of the waves. It was a quiet moment in a place forever changed.
The First Week of January 2005
A Week of Sorrow, Strength, and Solidarity at the Similan Islands
Video & Reflections
The video below tells a story that words can hardly capture.
Filmed during the first days after the tsunami, it shows how Viking of the Orient became the operational center for official search and recovery efforts at the Similan Islands — working side by side with the Royal Thai Navy, the Royal Thai Police, the Forestry Department, and more than one hundred professional and volunteer divers.
The days were calm and bright, the sea stunningly beautiful — as if unaware of the devastation that had struck the coastline only hours before. At the heart of the mission were three vessels: a Royal Thai Navy ship, an old cruise vessel chartered as living quarters, and Viking — the only private vessel involved.
The first scenes show a sunken longtail boat, its elegant bow still reaching above the surface, a silent memorial to the lives lost. On the beach, 12-year-old Koh stands beside me, witnessing destruction that no child should ever see.
What follows are images of the intense activity aboard Viking as we ferried officers, divers, and equipment between ships and shores — and of the heartbreaking discoveries along the beaches: children’s shoes scattered in the sand, fragments of boats and homes, and even a government vessel washed deep into the rainforest.
This six-and-a-half-minute video is essential viewing for anyone wishing to understand the true impact of the tsunami — and to see how, for one unforgettable week, Viking of the Orient stood at the very heart of Thailand’s search and recovery operations.
