Thread: HTMS Sukhothai reported sunk in Gulf of Thailand

Was a mention of this on Thai news this morning but not that it had sunk, just listing due to high winds and 4-5m swells in the Gulf.

However The Sun reports otherwise. the photos look fairly convincing

LOST AT SEA Huge search operation for dozens of sailors ‘in the water’ after warship rolls over and sinks in rough seas off Thailand
Published: 1:05, 19 Dec 2022

A FRANTIC rescue mission is underway after a warship sank during a powerful storm in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Royal Thai Navy said at least 28 sailors are still "in the water" waiting to be rescued after HTMS Sukhothai sank at 11.30pm on Sunday night.







Officials said Sukhothai was on patrol 20 miles from the port of Bang Saphan when it ran into choppy waters and took on water.

The ship's electrical system was wiped out, leading to engine failure.

Terrifying footage taken on board shows the vessel drifting on its side while crew members dressed in life jackets desperately holding onto a railing.

The Navy dispatched three ships to help - but only one could reach the scene before the warship sank.

HTMS Sukhothai
Corvette-class

From ThaiRath

Sukhothai - 73 rescued 73 5 injured
Authorities rushed to transport the injured from the Sukhothai wreck in the Gulf of Thailand.
It has brought 73 victims ashore and is speeding up the search and rescue of the remaining 33.



And

At 4:20 a.m., the Royal Navy ship Kraburi docked at Prachuap Port with 48 injured crew who were transported to Bang Saphan Hospital for further treatment.
33 other victims still missing, which the Royal Navy is preparing to carry out another search and rescue mission this morning, along with the royal ship Ang Thong, which is on its way to join the search.

Blimey.

That's a fair size tub to go down due to a bit of surf.

Just a mild case of Thai tilt

Admiral Adung Paniam Commander, Battle Fleet of the Navy confirmed that Sukhothai was not wrecked, but tilted due to strong winds. This caused sea water to spill into the hull, causing the ship to tilt while located about 20 nautical miles from the shore of Bang Saphan, Prachuap Khiri Khan province.

Originally Posted by prawnograph

Sukhothai was not wrecked, but tilted due to strong winds. This causes sea water to spill into the hull, causing the ship to tilt

You have to love em there's barely a month goes by without one Navy or another reporting vessels sinking due to catastrophic titling

^ Well they've got their submarine if yer looking for a job here.

^ no engine yet tho and it'll be a diesel electric chinky box of spanners with a one year guarantee, by the time they've decided i'll be retired.

Originally Posted by Edmond

Blimey.

That's a fair size tub to go down due to a bit of surf.

Incredible. 3-4m waves shouldn't be an issue.
Maintenance crew in training for when the submarines arrive?

Timeline, as far as I can gather from ThaiRath

Sunday 18 December
3.30pm Request to dock at Prachuap Pier, Bang Saphan District, Prachuap Khiri Khan due to the strong sea waves 3-4 meters high
6.00pm Radio notification from the Sukhothai that there was 1 engine problem, 1 engine remaining
Ship listing in strong wind
Seawater flowed into the electrical system causing a power outage
More seawater, more listing
7.00pm No engines, ship at 60-70 degrees. HTMS Kraburi diverted to assist
9.20pm Two tugboats sent from Prachuap Khiri Khan
10.00pm The Governor of Prachuap Khiri Khan arrives at Prachuap Pier and calls a meeting to discuss with the relevant agencies and puts rescue teams on standby
11:30 pm Notified that the Royal Navy ship HTMS Sukhothai has sunk in the Gulf of Thailand about 19 nautical miles from the shore with about 110 troops and sailors.
12.00pm Two tugboats arrive at the scene, along with HTMS Kraburi and cargo ship Sri Chaiya plus Energy, an international marine vessel.
Monday 19 December
4.20am HTMS Kraburi docked at Prachuap Port with 48 injured crew who were transported to Bang Saphan Hospital for further treatment.

wiki is already updated

HTMS Sukhothai - Wikipedia

The Sukhothai is one of only seven corvettes in the Royal Thai Navy, this incident represents a significant blow to the force.

The Ratanakosin-class corvettes are a class of two corvettes that were built for the Royal Thai Navy in the 1980s.
Constructed in the United States, a third was planned to be built in Thailand, but was canceled before construction could begin.
The Ratanakosin class is used as flagships for squadrons of fast attack craft. Is was armed with:

1 x76/62-mm. cannon
1 x40L70-mm. double barrel machine gun
2 xOerlikon 20 mm cannon
8 xHarpoon (missile)launcher
8 xsurface-to-air Albatross missile launcher
6 xTorpedo tubes

Whats the translation? "OH F*CK"?

Just gotta chuckle, it is not easy to sink a vessel that size in moderate seas unless poor seamanship. Few waves over the side the bilge pumps should have cleared it right out.

Oh well. The fish have a new home.

Conflicting reports on survivors/missing crew.

Royal Thai Navy Corvette Sinks in Gulf of Thailand


Thai corvette HTMS Sukhothai listing starboard after taking on water on Dec. 18, 2022. Royal Thai Navy Photo

The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) corvette HTMS Sukhothai (FS-442) sank in the Gulf of Thailand at 11:30 p.m. local time on Sunday following a loss of power and subsequent flooding of the ship, according to the service.

The RTN’s official Twitter account posted photos and videos of the incident the same night, stating that Sukhothai was on patrol 20 miles from the port in Bang Saphan district, Central Thailand when strong waves caused water to enter into the electrical systems of the ship which resulted in a loss of power and control for the ship along with water entering the hull resulting in the ship tilting.

The 110 sailors of Sukhothai’s crew were safely evacuated off the ship to the frigate Kraburi, according to the RTN. Strong winds and waves prevented recovery efforts and the ship sank at 11:30 p.m. local time, according to the RTN.

Sukhothai was one of two Ratanakosin-class corvettes built in the United States by the now-closed Tacoma Boatbuilding Company with lead ship HTMS Ratanakosin (FS-441) commissioned in 1986 and Sukhothai commissioned in 1987.

There was no storm as such, only the onset of the annual arrival of the NE monsoon gusting over 20 knots or so which led to heavy sea conditions but not sufficient to threaten a modern naval warship, one would have thought. However, from the sequence of events it seems the ship lost power through engine failure and it broached. Once swamped it lost remaining power and……

A vivid metaphor for Thailand.

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Oh well. The fish have a new home.

eh, you seem to forget the ongoing operation to re-float the vessel at approx 5 times its replacement value

Originally Posted by prawnograph

Incredible. 3-4m waves shouldn't be an issue.

That is incredible. 4m significant wave height is approximately our working limit for launching/recovering ROVs. It really is nothing.

Ship beam on to the waves? That would be embarrassing.

Budget for replacement already been submitted ?

Reported as 33 crew still missing; ships, helicopters and planes in the search



Earlier, 22 arrived ashore on the cargo ship

Originally Posted by malmomike77

eh, you seem to forget the ongoing operation to re-float the vessel at approx 5 times its replacement value

Ohhh. Missed that tidbit of magic. The hits keep coming. But hey, Its free entertainment

Originally Posted by Stumpy

Ohhh. Missed that tidbit of magic. The hits keep coming. But hey, Its free entertainment

33 people likely drowned. Oh how humourously entertaining.

^ Yep.

My feelings go out to the victims and their families.

That’s terrible. Hope they find more of those guys still alive.

I can't imagine much worse than being trapped below decks in a sinking ship. It must be the worst nightmare of anyone who works at sea.

Originally Posted by Troy

Ship beam on to the waves? That would be embarrassing.

But even so, beam on in 20knt winds and 4m seas shouldn't be catastrophic for a modern vessel, let along a sea-going naval vessel. As I mentioned above, 4m seas is about our working limit and that is controlled by sea conditions to launch/recover an ROV. In 4m seas a support vessel may deliberately go beam on to the seas to create a lee for ROV recovery.

Usually these kind of disasters occur through a chain of failures... I would guess a swamping with water tight hatches/doors not secured and then a failure to deploy below decks water-tight doors. Once a ship loses stability it can roll over remarkably quickly.

I would guess that a lack of maintenance combined with inadequate response from poorly trained officers and crew led to the sinking. Even if an engine shut down, the captain should have deployed a sea anchor to keep the ship's head into the wind and waves. Instead he let the bow fall off so that the ship started to roll in a beam sea. From there it would just be a cascade of failures.

I'm not just being an armchair admiral here, I've been on boats that lost power or started to take on water. Prompt action can keep the situation from changing from dangerous to fatal.