HTMS Similan

HTMS Similan (871) (Thai: เรือหลวงสิมิลัน) is a replenishment oiler (AOR) of the Royal Thai Navy. She was intended to support the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet and its escorts. Similan was constructed in the People's Republic of China at the Hudong Shipyard through a 1993 contract with the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. The ship was commissioned in 1996.^[1] Similan is the largest ship in the Thai navy and the largest naval ship exported by China.^[3][a]

Stern of Similan in port at the Sattahip Naval Base
History
Thailand
Name	Similan
Namesake	Similan Islands
Awarded	29 September 1993[1]
Builder	Hudong Shipyard[1]
Laid down	December 1994[1]
Launched	9 November 1995[1]
Commissioned	12 September 1996[1]
Identification	Hull number: 871[1]
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Replenishment oiler[1]
Displacement	23,369 tons (full load)[1]
Length	171.4 metres (562 ft)[1]
Beam	24.6 metres (81 ft)[1]
Draught	9 metres (30 ft)[1]
Propulsion	2 x HD-SEMT-Pielstick 16 PC2 6V400 diesel engines;[1] 2 shafts, each driving a Kamewa controllable-pitch propeller;[1] Total output: 24,000 hp (18,000 kW)[1]
Speed	19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)[1]
Range	10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km; 12,000 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)[1]
Capacity	9000 tons of fuel oil, water, and stores[1]
Complement	157[1]
Sensors and processing systems	Type 354 air/surface search radar Racal-Decca 1290 ARPA navigation radar
Aircraft carried	1 x Sikorsky S-70[2]
Aviation facilities	Hangar and flight deck[2]

The design is a flush-decked development of the Chinese Type 905 AOR resembling the French Durance;^[2] the builder referred to the design as Type R22T.^[1][2] Similan was a sister ship or the precursor to the later Chinese Type 903.^[5][6]

Design

Similan has two refueling stations on each side. Solid cargo is transferred by helicopter.^[2]

The ship was planned to be armed with Chinese weapons; four Type 76 twin 37 mm naval guns and the Type 341 radar were not fitted.^[2]

Career

Similan deployed together with HTMS Pattani in 2010 and HTMS Narathiwat in 2011 to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia as part of Combined Task Force 151.^[7]

Notes

1. Some reports expected the record to be broken by HTMS Chang (LPD-792), though the latter's displacement was later reported as 20,003 tonnes, less than Similan's.^[4]