No to navy salvage

Re: “Vessel yet to be salvaged”, (BP, March 30).

The navy continues to seek 200 million baht for the salvage of the sunken HTMS Sukhothai, but your story makes no mention of why the navy sees the need to salvage this vessel.

Even if the vessel is salvageable and can be made seaworthy again, which is highly doubtful — where are you going to find the men to crew it, given even educated Thais’ profound belief in ghosts and spirits?

Unless the navy can come up with the most convincing reason why Thai taxpayers should shell out this huge sum of money, HTMS Sukhothai should be left to rest on the ocean floor as a memorial to the 24 sailors and the other five who remain missing (and are surely also dead), in much the same way as USS Arizona and USS Utah are memorials to those killed in the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour.

DAVID BROWN