PUBLISHED: 9 Mar 2025 at 13:24
All nine crew members were successfully rescued after their fishing trawler sank in the Gulf of Thailand due to a collision with an ocean liner early Sunday morning.
The Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Centre responded to an emergency call from the owner of the trawler Vor Sapchanon, who reported that the vessel was in distress.
A crew member reached out to the owner via satellite phone around 2 a.m., informing him that the trawler had collided with a large passenger ship and was on the verge of sinking.
The incident occurred approximately 70-80 nautical miles off the coastline of Songkhla-Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Among the crew were three Thais, three Cambodians, and three Myanmar nationals, including the captain, Theerawat Thaomoi.
Vice Admiral Nares Wongtrakul, commander of the 2nd Naval Area, ordered an immediate search and rescue operation.
By 10 a.m. on Sunday, navy helicopters successfully extracted all nine crew members from the water, transporting them to the naval base in Songkhla.
The fishing trawler had departed from its home port in Songkhla the previous day and sank after the collision. The name of the ocean liner involved has not been disclosed, and it remains unclear if the ship sustained any damage or if its crew was aware of the incident.
All nine crew members of the sunken trawler after their rescue.
