Buses carrying crew members of the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier streamed into Thailand’s seaside resort city of Pattaya on Thursday, as part of a port call after a lengthy deployment to the Middle East. Read moreUSS Lincoln carrier docks near Thailand's Pattaya resort after nine months at sea The Lincoln was supporting the US-Israeli war against Iran, and its deployment included a record-setting uninterrupted time at sea of more than 260 days. Its lengthy deployment drew concerns last month about deteriorating mental health among the crew, including reported attempted suicides, as well as shortages of key food supplies aboard. The Navy downplayed any problems, and US President Donald Trump maintained that the deployment was “not nearly long enough”. The ship has been deployed for a total of 286 days, according to the US Embassy in Bangkok. Its total uninterrupted time at sea before Wednesday’s arrival in Chonburi province was 264 days. The ship is expected to depart Thailand this weekend and continue its journey back to the US.
Tourists stroll down Walking Street in Pattaya, Thailand, on August 31, 2026. © Sakchai Lalit, AP
Pattaya draws in huge crowds of foreign tourists, both for its beach resorts and its nightlife. The seaside city has come under heavy scrutiny for its widespread sex tourism industry. Thai authorities launched a crackdown on sex workers ahead of the ship's visit, although they denied it was linked to the sailors' arrival. Shore leave After clambering down from buses, laden with luggage, several service members told the Associated Press they were excited to be in Thailand. Vendors and travel agents gathered outside the Hard Rock Hotel, the designated pickup and drop-off point for troops travelling from the Lincoln, which is docked nearby at Laem Chabang port. They swarmed service members as they arrived, offering a range of souvenirs and services. Many sailors waved them away while waiting for their rides. Two other ships from the Lincoln’s strike group are docked elsewhere in Thailand, with the destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. at Chonburi’s Sriracha port and the cruiser USS Robert Smalls in Map Ta Phut in neighbouring Rayong province. A-ngoon Sombat travelled 200 kilometres between Pattaya and the central province of Ayutthaya to sell colourful braided bracelets to the visiting crew, as she does every time she hears a US ship is coming for a port call in Chonburi province. She set up opposite the hotel entrance and had managed to make some sales, but said she is still unsure if business will be good this week. “There are many vendors around. It’s really up to how lucky each of us are,” she said.
