Retiring Navy chief promises not to leave a ‘mess’ for his successor
Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Commander-in-Chief Admiral Choengchai Chomchoengpaet said on Friday that he would not leave a “mess” for his successor when he retires at the end of this month.
Choengchai has approved that a Chinese-made CHD 620 engine be fitted on the Chinese S26T Yuan-class submarine built by China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Co (CSOC), reports say.
The 13.2-billion-baht submarine deal has been delayed since 2017 after Germany refused to supply the MTU 396 diesel engine specified by Thailand, citing the European Union’s arms embargo on China.
CSOC proposed a CHD620 engine as a replacement and increased the warranty period from 10 to 20 years to ensure its quality.
As for the progress in the salvaging of the ill-fated HTMS Sukhothai from the Gulf of Thailand under the proposed budget of 200 million baht, Choengchai said the Budget Bureau has approved 90 million baht, and the rest will be the RTN’s responsibility.
He has tasked Commander of the Royal Thai Fleet Admiral Adung Pan-Iam to prepare the terms of reference for private contractors to bid for the task. The contract signing is expected in two weeks, while the salvage operation is expected to take around three months.
The corvette-class ship sank in a storm about 20 nautical miles (32 kilometres) off the coast of Bang Saphan district in Prachuap Khiri Khan on December 18 last year.
A total of 105 crew were on board.
Seventy-six crewmembers were rescued. The bodies of 24 sailors were found. The missing five are presumed dead.
Adung will become the RTN chief from October 1. Choengchai said he advised his successor to try to restore the RTN’s image and people’s confidence in the navy, which has been undermined by several problems in the past years.
