The Royal Thai Navy took delivery of a new locally built buoy tender in a ceremony in Samut Prakan province on Monday, March 30. HTMS Suriya will replace an earlier vessel of the same name in Royal Thai Navy service. Classed as a "hydrographic operations ship," the newbuild will be used for inspection and maintenance of lighthouses, buoys, and other aids to navigation in Thai waters. The vessel is capable of operating in coastal waters, along inter-island routes, and even in remote areas in conditions of up to Sea State five. Suriya has a length of 60 metres, a beam of 13.3 metres, a draught of 3.05 metres at maximum displacement, a maximum speed of just over 13 knots, a range of 2,400 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 10 knots, and a crew complement of 50. The vessel is also equipped with a small tender and a Melcal heavy duty crane for loading and unloading buoys. Construction of Suriya was undertaken by local shipyard Asimar.
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