Officers and crew members disembark HTMS
Similan at Juksamet port following a four month mission at sea to
protect Thai merchant vessels against piracy.
Patcharapol Panrak
Two Sattahip-based naval vessels made a muted return
to Thailand after a 137-day mission to Somalia marred by the failure to
rescue 27 Thai fishermen taken hostage Christmas Eve.
Without much fanfare, the HTMS Pattani and HTMS
Similan arrived at Juksamet Port Jan. 20, met by Royal Thai Navy
officials, families and the realization the much-ballyhooed mission was
only a partial success.
Above and below: Despite mixed fortunes at sea, the crew of the two
vessels were guaranteed a warm welcome home from loved ones.
The ships left for the Gulf of Aden Sept. 10 for what
was originally scheduled to be a 98-day mission. The Pattani joined the
29-nation international patrol while the Similan was tasked with
escorting and protecting Thai cargo and fishing vessels.
Royal Thai Navy Commander Adm. Kamthon Phumhiran
called the mission a successful test of the service’s ability to monitor
ships and operations in real-time over long distances.
During the nearly fourth months, the vessels helped
to protect 1,703 cargo ships, participated in 12 convoys to guard 61
ships – five of them Thai;, provided escort to a Sudan-based armaments
vessel and provided emergency medical treatment to vessels in distress.
The high point of the mission, however, was the
dramatic rescue of 23 crew members of a Thai fishing boat hijacked by
Somali pirates off the coast of Yemen Nov. 3. The Similan plucked seven
Thais, 15 Cambodians and one Yemeni police officer out of the sea 15
miles off the Yemen coast Nov. 7 and transported them to a hospital in
Oman.
The early successes, however, were dampened by the
recent failure to free 27 Thai fishing boat crewmembers hijacked and
held hostage since Dec. 24. Media reports indicated the company that
owned the ship refused Navy help and opted to negotiate and pay a ransom
to free its boat and crew.
The Thai naval vessels could follow the hijacked
ship, but not get close. And it had to break off pursuit once the vessel
entered Somali waters. A month later, the crew remains in captivity.
Likewise, 77 Thais abducted in April also remain
hostages of Somali pirates after their three ships were hijacked.
Ironically, those fishing boats, Prantalay 11, 12 and 14, have become
“motherships” for the pirates, equipped with enough equipment to run
three piracy crews each, complete with lightweight skiffs and ladders to
scale the hulls of larger ships.
Nonetheless, Navy officials still called the mission
a proud achievement for Thailand, as it provided service to Thai
citizens in several foreign countries and gave the military a chance to
show the flag abroad, making expatriate citizens proud.
