Thai warships to attend anti-piracy mission

14.09.2010 Two ships of Royal Thai Navy left Sattahip Naval Base on Sept 10 heading for Somali coast to participate in multinational anti-piracy mission held by the navies of 28 countries. According to Bangkok Post, it is the first overseas mission in Thailand's history.

The task unit consisting of patrol ship HTMS Pattani and naval supply ship HTMS Similan is supposed to reach the Gulf of Aden in 17 days. There are 351 crewmen, 20 marines, and 2 helicopters onboard. It is expected that the mission will last 98 days and the ships will return to homebase after Dec 12. As for the national navy, about 60 Thai-flagged vessels are to sail through the Gulf of Aden during this period.

Main task of the ships and marine unit is protection of Thai merchant and fishing vessels in the region, said Admiral Supakorn Buranadilok, Royal Thai Navy Commander.

According to Bangkok Post, 270 mln baht will be spent for the operation.

Reference

Patrol ship HTMS Pattani was built in China by China State Shipbuilding. Displacement is 1,440 tons; length is 95.5 meters; beam is 11.6 meters. Armament: 76-mm Melara Super Rapid gun mount, 20-mm Oerlikon GAM-C001 automatic guns, 12.7-mm machineguns, hangar and heliport.

Naval supply vessel HTMS Similan was built in China by China State Shipbuilding. Displacement is 22,000 tons; length is 171.4 meters; beam is 24.6 meters. Armament: 4 x 20-mm automatic guns, hangar and heliport.