Thai sailors seek blessing from Phuket’s Heroines

PHUKET: The captain and crew of the Royal Thai Navy HTMS Thalang this morning performed a ceremony seeking the blessing of Phuket’s renowned heroines Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn.

Presiding over the ceremony was Lt Cdr Apiruk Mangkorn, commander of the HTMS Thalang.

Reinforced by members of the ship’s 75 crew, Lt Cdr Apiruk asked for Phuket’s ‘guardian angels’ to watch over them on their return voyage to their home port in Sattahip in Chon Buri.

The ceremony was held at 11am at the Heroines’ Monument in Thalang – the Phuket district after which the ship was named.

The Thalang, which has been in operation since June 23, 1980, is a Royal Thai Navy minesweeper with a top speed of 12 knots and a range of 2,000 nautical miles.

The ship arrived in Phuket on Wednesday under escort by the Ratanakosin class Corvette HTMS Sukhothai, with 97 crew on board to conduct training exercises off Phuket.

Both ships will depart Phuket tomorrow to return to Sattahip in the Gulf of Thailand.

— Somaporn Janyanon