By Wyatt Carvalho
Thailand’s warship, the HTMAS Sukhotai capsized due to water flooding its power controls this Sunday night. With a crew of around 100 people, it was said that 75 have been found but 33 sailors are still missing. It was reported that this almost never happens, especially to ships that are still actively in use. The boat weighs 920-tons, and is 252 feet long.
It appears that strong winds tilted the boat, causing it to let in sea water into the exhaust pipe, and shut down the entire ship’s electrical system according to a statement made by the Thai military. The main power was the first system to go, as it caused the crew to be unable to maneuver the water, or even pump it out. Over 3 hours, any efforts to remove water from the vessel failed, even transferring water from the exhaust pipe to naval vessels failed. As of Monday, the ship officially sank.
The ship was west of the Prachuap Khiri Khan province, where it was caught in a storm, causing flooding. The frigate HTMAS Kraburi reached it in time, where it picked up a majority of the sailors with many injured. The severe weather hindered the search efforts, with the weather only ending Monday morning. The vessel was created in 1987, showing the age of the boat. Once you lose power, you are in the dark…” said the retired U.S. Navy Captain Carl Schuster. While no official report of the group’s condition has been released, we have seen them leave the frigate with stretchers.
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