The Trat Navy station was alerted at 8pm of incident aboard the 116-gross tonnage Mae Klong Pattana 18 and dispatched a patrol boat to the site..
Navy officers plucked Anek Kacharat 45, the boat’s captain, from the sea and gave him first aid for the large cut on his face.
Navy troops boarded the vessel to Nian Aung, 33, and discovered the body of Somsamai Wongkhamsri, 47, the ship’s mechanic. He had been stabbed more than 40 times.
Anek told the Navy officers that while he was piloting the boat in the control cabin, Nian Aung rushed in with a knife. Anek said Somsamai protected him but bore the brunt of the knife attack. Anek was knifed in his face before jumping overboard.
He said he was in the water for two hours before his crew could contact the officials for help.