Royal Thai Fleet halts public visits to HTMS Chakri Naruebet as border tensions rise
The Royal Thai Fleet announced on Monday (November 17) that rising instability along the border has prompted a tightening of security measures, leading to a temporary suspension of public visits to the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet.
The fleet said the vessel has transitioned into heightened readiness and strict security mode, with reinforced access controls. The decision, it added, is aimed at ensuring maximum safety and protecting classified military information during a period of elevated tension, including mitigating risks of surveillance or intelligence gathering.
HTMS Chakri Naruebet (CVH-911), the Royal Thai Navy’s flagship and its first and only aircraft carrier, serves as part of Thailand’s main naval combat force.
Built in Spain and modelled after the Spanish Navy’s Principe de Asturias, the vessel was adapted with modified propulsion, aviation control systems and weapons, and launched with a reduced displacement.
Commissioned on March 20, 1997, the carrier has since undertaken operational missions and humanitarian relief operations across Thai waters in both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea.
HTMS Chakri Naruebet is recognised as the smallest aircraft carrier in the world.
