On the 4th of May 1997, the King Cruiser hit the tip of Anemone Reef, which is just barely submerged under the water surface, and sank to a depth of around 33m within 2.5 hours. There were no casualties in the incident, but the true backgrounds of that day remain a mystery until today. It is believed that an insurance scam could be the reason why the ship might have been deliberately navigated into the well-charted obstacle. One of the possible explanations why there were no cars transported on the car ferry that day.
After over 20 years on the ocean’s floor, the King Cruiser is one of the most popular dive sites in the Andaman with dive operators out of Phuket as well as Ko Phi Phi visiting her daily. Unfortunately, the lightweight design of the car ferry with large areas unsupported by strong beams caused the structure of the wreck to collapse in a short period of time. These days there are no noticeable penetration points left as the three decks have all come down onto the main platform between the two catamaran hulls.
