US aircraft carrier leaves Thailand after five-day port call

The USS Abraham Lincoln pulled away from Thailand on Sunday, ending a five-day stop that gave its 5,000 sailors and Marines a break after nine months at sea and a lengthy deployment in the Middle East.

The nuclear-powered carrier docked at Laem Chabang, north of Pattaya and near Bangkok, on Wednesday. AFP journalists saw the ship depart at about 11 a.m. local time. The visit was the carrier's first port call after reports of deteriorating living conditions aboard, including shortages of food and basic toiletries, broken plumbing and mental health crises.

Pattaya stepped up security before the sailors arrived, while authorities cracked down on sex workers. The city's mayor denied the measures were connected to the port call. Police said the visit passed largely without incident. "Everything went fine," Pattaya police chief Anek Srathongyoo told AFP, adding that there were no arrests or arguments apart from a dispute between Americans on the first day.

Two sailors were sent back to the Lincoln after a drunken altercation near Walking Street in the early hours of Thursday. Anek described the incident as a small and trivial scuffle. The stop nevertheless brought an economic boost to Pattaya during its tourism low season. Mayor Poramase Ngampiches estimated that the sailors spent up to 100 million baht, or $3 million, and said the city also sold the ship supplies, including toothpaste, worth millions of baht.

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Everything went fine