The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) docked in Thailand after 250 days at sea without a port stop, bringing nearly 5,000 crew members to Pattaya. Last November, the ship left San Diego on what was supposed to be a six-month assignment in the Pacific and South China Sea, but it was diverted in late February after the US and Israel began military operations against Iran.
Pattaya Businesses Wait for Sailors
Near Walking Street, gems seller Anon Saiteer said, "This visit could be our best hope" and added, "We have nothing to lose – we just hope they will spend some money here." His shop sits in a city where local businesses are counting on the crew’s spending, even as Thai authorities put limits on where US servicemen and women can go.
Thai Limits on Crew Movement
Poramase Ngampiches, Pattaya's mayor, told the, "It is their decision," and "The US military have done their homework." Thai police reminded US visitors that prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand, while there were thought to be 25,000 to 50,000 sex workers in Pattaya, many of them working in Soi 6. Cannabis shops in Pattaya, along with sea-sports like paragliding and jet-skis, were also off-limits to US crew members.
A Rare Visit From the US Navy
The US Navy acknowledged that working conditions had been tough during the long deployment. The visit also places nearly 5,000 crew members in a city that historically saw large numbers of US troops during the Vietnam War for rest and relaxation, and the article says this is probably the largest number of US military personnel coming straight from a war zone to Pattaya since the fall of Saigon in 1975.
For Pattaya businesses, the immediate test is simple: whether the sailors spend enough time and money in the city to make the stop matter. The crew’s restrictions will shape where they go, who benefits, and how much of the visit reaches the streets around Walking Street and Soi 6.
