Six Sailors Die and 23 still are missing
HTMS Sukhothai (FS-442) (Thai: เรือหลวงสุโขทัย,
RTGS: Sukhothai) was a corvette of the Ratanakosi class operated
by the Royal Thai Navy. The ship was
named after the Kingdom of Sukhothai, traditionally regarded as the first
Thai kingdom along the Chao Phrahya river.
On 18 December 2022,
while on a weather patrol mission in the Gulf of Thailand, high winds and
strong waves caused seawater to flow into the warship; this flooding caused a
power outage and subsequent loss of control of machinery and steering
mechanisms. Sukhothai continued
to take on water until eventually sinking overnight. The Royal Thai Navy was dispatched to rescue
the crew, and as of 21 December 2022, they have confirmed that they
have picked up 76 sailors, with 23 of the 105 crew members still missing and 6
sailors dead.
2022 sinking
The ship sank after a
storm in the Gulf of Thailand on 18 December 2022. She developed a heavy list after flooding
caused electrical systems and pumps to fail. The failures were caused by
seawater entering an exhaust port in heavy seas, which led to a short circuit
in the ship's electrical system. She
sank at around 23:30 local time (UTC+07:00).
A weather advisory for the area had been issued by the Thailand
Meteorological Department before the sinking, warning of 4-meter-high
(13 ft) waves and advising ships to "proceed with caution".
Sukhothai had been on a patrol 17 nautical miles (32 km)
east of Bang Saphan, in the Prachuap Khiri Khan province, when she became
caught in the storm on 18 December. Other
naval ships and helicopters were sent to assist, but only HTMS Kraburi reached
the vessel before she sank, picking up most of her crew.
As of
21 December 2022, the Royal Thai Navy has confirmed that rescue
efforts have saved 76 sailors, but 23 crew members out of the 105 onboard are
still missing, with 6 sailors dead. As
of 21December 2022, rescue operations are still underway.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTMS_Sukhothai
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