Sandy locations where a ship gets a hole in it (5)

I believe the answer is:

spits

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'a ship gets a hole in it' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'sandy locations' is the wordplay.
'sandy' becomes 's' (this might be a standard abbreviation of which I'm unaware).
'locations' becomes 'pits' (pit is a kind of location).
's'+'pits'='SPITS'

'where' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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