Thai Navy equipped with new frigate

HTMS Chang enters the naval base (Photo: Royal Thai Navy)

Bangkok (VNA) – The Royal Thai Navy (RTN)’s new frigate, HTMS Chang, docked at Sattahip Naval Base in Chonburi province on April 25.

It was escorted by the RTN ship, HTMS Narathiwat, on the journey from China and its arrival was marked by a special ceremony on the same day.

HTMS Chang is the latest model of a type-071 landing platform dock and was built by China Shipbuilding Trading for 6.1 billion THB (nearly 180 million USD).

The frigate is 213 metres long and 28 metres wide, with a maximum displacement of 20,003 tonnes, a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 10,000 nautical miles. The ship can tolerate choppy seas and accommodate a crew of 600.

The frigate was bought as part of the Navy’s 20-year strategy (2017-2036) to procure four landing platform docks to be used in amphibious warfare, marine rescue and disaster relief.

According to the RTN, the navy has to procure more landing platform docks to maximise operational efficiency.

Thailand's HTMS Chang replaces a vessel of the same name that was sunk to become the country’s largest diving wreck off Koh Chang in the Gulf of Thailand.

The RTN scuttled the ship to create the Hin Luk Bat diving site in Trat province on November 28, 2012, under a project to create a reef and rehabilitate marine life./.