A fisherman sailed near a cargo ship - misjudging its strength as he battled to avoid the powerful wake suction from the engines.

The local on a wooden vessel was moving in the opposite direction to the large shipping vessel when he was almost pulled into the large propellers in Samut Prakan province, Thailand on October 14.

Footage shows the fisherman cruising dangerously close to the Evergreen freighter that was more than a hundred times his boat's size.

When he reached the side of the ship, he tried to veer away but the waves from the powerful propellers reeled him in.

He glided over the waves until he reached the stern of the cargo vessel, from Singapore, where he battled the force from the blades before he successfully pulled away.

Onlooker Natthawut Wonghirunkornchai who works as a recruiter for a ship manpower agency was at the port when it happened.

He said: 'That was a very close call. We were worried that he could be hurt.'

The drag or suction behind a large ship is called the wake. As the ship moves through water, it creates waves and vortices behind it.

This disturbed water is called the ship's wake, and it can create a slight pulling effect, known as wake suction, on objects or smaller boats nearby. This is caused by the water moving differently behind the ship.