HTMS_Similan_(871)
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][lower-alpha 1]
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]