The Royal Thai Navy’s second Krabi-class offshore patrol vessel, Prachuap Khiri Khan, seen here at its ceremonial launch. (Royal Thai Navy)
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) has held a ceremonial launch ceremony for its second Krabi-class missile-capable offshore patrol vessel (OPV).
The ship, which will be in service as HTMS Prachuap Khiri Khan (552) once commissioned, underwent its ceremonial launch at the RTN’s Mahidol Adulyadej Naval Dockyard in Sattahip, Chonburi, on 2 August, the RTN announced on its official website on the same day.
The OPV is the second vessel of its class. Its sister ship, HTMS Krabi (551), was commissioned into service in August 2013. Both vessels are based on the UK Royal Navy’s River-class OPVs, which entered service between 2003 and 2007.
Like Krabi , Prachuap Khiri Khan was built by state-owned Bangkok Dock under a technology-transfer agreement signed with BAE Systems. It was laid down in June 2017 and first took to the water in late August 2018.
The vessel has an overall length of 90.5 m, an overall beam of 13.5 m, and a draught of 3.5 m. It has a top speed of 25 kt and a range of 3,500 n miles at 15 kt.
The OPV will be fitted with a combat, navigation, and communication suite provided by Thales and will be capable of launching Boeing’s Harpoon surface-to-surface guided-missiles via four (two twin) launchers mounted diagonally amidships.
The OPV is also armed with an Oto Melara 76 mm main gun and two MSI 30 mm guns and can accommodate a medium-sized helicopter on its flight deck.
Prachuap Khiri Khan
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