Thousands of sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in Thailand on Wednesday morning for a brief reprieve from a nine-month deployment marked by concerns over deteriorating conditions aboard.
The nuclear-powered carrier docked at Laem Chabang Port, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the resort city of Pattaya, where some 5,000 sailors and Marines will take a five-day break following prolonged operations in the Middle East.
“Our arrival in Laem Chabang provides a well-deserved opportunity for our Sailors and Marines to rest and recharge,” Rear Admiral Robert Loughran, commander of Carrier Strike Group 3, said in a statement. “It also underscores the strong and enduring partnership and alliance between the United States and Thailand.”
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For the crew, the stop offers a long-needed break from a deployment that has lasted more than 280 days, which drew scrutiny in Washington over conditions aboard. For Pattaya, it promises a needed injection of cash during an unusually quiet low season.
{{/usCountry}}For the crew, the stop offers a long-needed break from a deployment that has lasted more than 280 days, which drew scrutiny in Washington over conditions aboard. For Pattaya, it promises a needed injection of cash during an unusually quiet low season.
{{/usCountry}}“They told us themselves that they’re coming with their pockets full, as they haven’t had a chance to spend any money at all,” Pattaya Mayor Poramase Ngampiches said in a phone interview. The city is accustomed to absorbing large groups of visitors, including thousands of passengers arriving on cruise ships. What makes the sailors different, he said, is their expected spending power.
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The mayor estimates the visitors could spend $2.5 million to $3.75 million during the five-day stop if all 5,000 come ashore and spend $100 to $150 a day. Restaurants, bars, hotels, massage parlors and transport operators are among the businesses preparing for the influx.
The tourism federation of Chonburi, Pattaya’s home province, said in July that visitor numbers had fallen 20%-30%, with occupancy at some hotels dropping as low as 15%-20%. Even Pattaya’s Walking Street, a neon-soaked strip of bars and nightclubs usually packed with tourists, was subdued in late August as operators reported weaker sales and fewer customers.
‘Great Relief’
US lawmakers have sought answers from the Pentagon following accounts from sailors and their families of food and water shortages, exhaustion and mental-health emergencies aboard the carrier. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said reports about conditions on the ship were “completely misrepresented.”
“After months of long shifts, even if they don’t involve continuous flight operations, the crew gets burned out,” said Bryan Clark, director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at Hudson Institute, who served in Navy headquarters from 2004 to 2011. “A port call is a chance to get off the ship. Just the change in activity and surroundings can be a great relief to the crew.”
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The Lincoln is scheduled to remain at Laem Chabang through Sept. 6, while the USS Frank E Petersen Jr., an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, docked nearby in Sriracha, also in Chonburi province. Personnel will stay both aboard the vessels and at hotels in Pattaya, with shuttle buses operating between the port and the city from 5 a.m. until 2 a.m. the following morning, according to the city’s mayor.
Pattaya’s emergence as a major resort began during the Vietnam War, when American servicemen stationed in the region came to its beaches for rest and recreation and transformed a sleepy fishing community. Hotels, bars, restaurants and entertainment venues sprang up to serve them, helping lay the foundations for the sprawling tourism and nightlife industry that defines the city today.
Days before the carrier’s arrival, Chonburi officials held security meetings and urged businesses to charge fair prices and treat visitors well. Police also fined 25 people on Saturday, including 18 Thai nationals, for offenses including harassing passersby and soliciting prostitution, part of efforts to present a more orderly image of the resort.
Such sweeps are routine in Pattaya, where officials periodically target public solicitation and other visible signs of the city’s sex trade. Prostitution is illegal in Thailand, though the industry remains highly visible in Pattaya and other tourist destinations.
The US military is imposing restrictions of its own. Personnel may visit nearby islands but will be barred from jet skiing and consuming cannabis, Poramase said. They will also be prohibited from entering certain areas after sunset, including an area known as Soi 6 that’s known for its go-go bars.