The Naval Supply Department insisted that there were 130 life jackets on HTMS Sukhothai when it sank in December, more than enough for the 105 crew.
Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy (RTN), Admiral Choengchai Chomchoengpaet yesterday said that the RTN is finding out why some of the survivors claimed that there were not enough life jackets on HTMS Sukhothai.
Regarding the cause of the disaster, Choengchai said initial findings show that the ship took on more water than could not be pumped out effectively.
Salvaging the wreck from the Gulf of Thailand could cost over 200 million baht, Choengchai said.
The corvette-class ship is lying at a depth of about 50 metres and recovering it could cause damage that will make it more difficult to determine why it sank, the admiral said. The RTN is looking for a contractor to salvage the vessel.
About 32 kilometres off the coast of…
