An exhausted, naked Russian man has been rescued from the sea by a speedboat driver about six kilometres off Pattaya.

Pracharat Satsuk, 34, said he was taking about 20 foreign tourists to Koh Lan on Sunday morning.

He came across the Russian floating naked and exhausted in the sea between the Bali Hai pier and Koh Lan. He threw him a life buoy, pulled him aboard the speedboat and gave him a towel and drinking water.

“The man was exhausted. His body had wounds, possibly caused while he was in the water. Fortunately the current was not strong. He was not washed too far out. If he had been unlucky, he might have been hit by boat propellers,” Mr Pracharat said.

The Russian man told him he swam out from Pattaya on Saturday night and was headed for Koh Lan, but he could not make it, the driver said.