According to the Royal Thai Navy, the navy received a report at 9 a.m. on November 11 that an oil tanker named “Venus 14” had sunk in the waters off Sattahip in Chonburi Province, with six crew members missing.
The vessel was a Thai-registered vessel supplying fuel to fishing boats. It sank in the Gulf of Thailand about 27 nautical miles southwest of the entrance to the Sattahip Naval Base channel. The cause of the accident has not been announced, and the amount of oil aboard is also unknown.
After receiving the report, the Royal Thai Navy’s First Naval Area immediately launched search and rescue operations. At the same time, the navy coordinated with the Marine Department to prepare for possible pollution from an oil spill, while the tug HTMS Panyi and a helicopter remained on standby. The navy said it would continue monitoring conditions at sea to prevent adverse effects on the marine environment.
As of the evening of November 11, the whereabouts of the six missing crew members remained unknown, and the search and rescue operation was still underway.
