Name of Thailand's largest sailing ship, a three-masted vessel with a length of 58.5 meters and 11 meters wide.  It is a replica of Thoon Kramom (ทูนกระหม), the last three-masted sailing ship used by the Royal Thai Navy in the era of King Rama V. The captain of the original vessel was Hans Niels Andersen, a Danish shipping magnate and businessman, as well as the founder of both the luxury Oriental Hotel, the first ever hotel in Thailand, ánd the East Asiatic Company (fig.), whose offices were located along the lower eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River (fig.). The ship played an important role in the Siamese-European trade of that era, transporting teakwood and other goods to Europe, and carrying coal upon return. Thoon Kramom was also one of six ships that protected the Thai capital from invasion during the Franco-Siamese War (fig.). Sirimahannop, today's replica was built in a joint project between a local branch of the five-star hotel chain Marriott with Asset World Corporation Public Company Limited, the company behind Asiatique, an entertainment venue fully known as Asiatique The Riverfront (fig.) and located on the site of the former docks of the East Asiatic Company, where the replica ship is permanently docked, in order to provide the so-called ‘River of Kings’ with a cultural landmark of historical importance. Its name means ‘Grace of the Ocean’ and it was constructed at a cost of 135 million baht. See also EXPLORER'S MAP, TRAVEL PICTURE, and WATCH VIDEO. 回