‘B100m’ is needed to salvage warship

The Royal Thai Navy plans to salvage the sunken HTMS Sukhothai using a budget of around 100 million baht as it still searches for the last five missing crew members.

HTMS Sukhothai sank in rough seas — 50 metres deep — about 19 nautical miles off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan’s Bang Saphan district on the night of Dec 18, with 105 crew on board.

A source said Adm Adung Phaniam, commander of the Royal Thai Fleet who chairs a committee on salvaging HTMS Sukhothai, has been preparing for a meeting that will conclude bidding to select a company for the warship’s retrieval.

Among the bidders, 12 have met the specifications defined by the navy — that the warship must remain intact as much as possible after its retrieval without the vessel being disassembled in any way. Retrieving the warship in this manner is expected to cost around 100 million baht.

The navy will propose the Defence Ministry settles the budget ceiling.

Most of the bidders are confident they can recover the whole vessel by using certain techniques and suitable equipment, which nonetheless could take some time to complete, said the source.

For the missing crew, the navy is continuing its search for the last five people missing. Of the 105 people, 76 were rescued and 24 others were found dead.

At 11.30am yesterday, navy spokesman Adm Pokkrong Monthatpalin said the search has been expanded to Koh Khai, Koh Chorakhe and Koh Mattra in Chumphon in cooperation with the Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre (Thai-MECC) Region 1 and Thai-MECC in Chumphon and Prachuap Khiri Khan.

The navy has worked with local leaders in coastal areas, as well as rescuers and fishery associations, to help with the search. Adm Pokkrong said the navy also urged locals to inform the Thai-MECC once any more bodies are discovered.