A dawn gloom hangs over the pier in Bangsaray, eastern Thailand, as buyers arrive to wait for the first fishing boats to return. But like everyone else relying on the day’s catch they have already lost money to someone else’s war.Thailand’s multibillion-dollar fishing industry has been brought to its knees by the runaway price of diesel, a result of Iran’s throttling of the Strait of Hormuz in response to the US and Israel’s attacks.
Half of the kingdom’s vast fishing fleet is already docked, according to the National Fisheries Association of Thailand, which warns that without government intervention the remainder will soon follow: a potential cataclysm for a sector employing hundreds of thousands, from deep-sea fishers to high-end restaurants.
But the mini-economy on Bangsaray pier, Chonburi province, is staggering on, for now – even as US President Donald Trump vacillates over the next steps in a war he started.
Fishermen at a pier in Chonburi, Thailand. Photo: Aidan Jones
Boat owners say they are shouldering the record cost of the diesel required to power the fleet, which last week pushed beyond 45 baht (US$1.38) a litre, more than 30 per cent higher than pre-war levels. And they still have salaries to pay.