A ceremonial launching of the Royal Thai Navy's third amphibious transport dock ship took place in China on Wednesday, a source said.
Conducted at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard near Shanghai, the ceremony was performed by Aranya Sirisawat, wife of Adm Thaloengsak Sirisawat, the deputy navy chief, who also took part in the event.
The new amphibious transport dock ship, also called a landing platform dock (LPD) ship, was named HTMS Chang, said the source, adding the vessel was named by His Majesty the King after Chang Island in Trat province.
The ship was purchased as part of the navy's 20-year plan to have all four such large amphibious ships in commission for various operations by 2036 .
They include transporting amphibious command and support vessels, supporting submarine operations, taking part in marine search and rescue operations, evacuating disaster victims and supporting marine and portal anti-terrorism operations.
The ship is 213 metres long and 28m wide, while its maximum displacement is 20,003 tonnes, and its draft is 17.4m. Its maximum speed is 25 knots, and its range is 10,000 nautical miles.
Currently, the navy's plan to have all four amphibious transport dock ships in commission at the same time is still far from being accomplished as this HTMS Chang was bought to simply replace its predecessor, also called HTMS Chang.
When it comes to naming a new ship, the navy has a fixed protocol to follow. In the case of an amphibious ship, it must be named after an important island in the country, while a frigate is named after a main river in Thailand such as Bang Pakong.
A corvette is named after an old capital of the country, such as Sukhothai, while a fast attack craft is named after a coastal province such as Pattani.
