- Cheonghae Unit
-
Cheonghae Anti-piracy Unit 
The ROKS Yi Sun-shin participates in a naval exercise.Active March 3, 2009 – present Country 
Republic of KoreaBranch 
Republic of Korea NavyType Naval task force Role Anti-piracy, counter-terrorism Part of Combined Task Force 151 Commanders Captain Cho Young-joo[1] The Cheonghae Anti-piracy Unit (Korean: 청해부대, Hanja: 淸海部隊) was established by the Republic of Korea Navy to protect civilian ships near the coast of Somalia under Combined Task Force 151.[1][2] The naval task force is named after the historical 9th-century Korean military base Cheonghaejin.[3]
Deployed from Jinhae Naval Base, the modern-day unit is responsible for safely escorting hundreds of commercial vessels and several rescues involving ships from The Bahamas, Denmark, North Korea and South Korea. In January 2011, commandos in the Cheonghae Unit successfully executed a highly-publicized rescue of a South Korean tanker, freeing crew members held hostage by Somali pirates.[4]
Contents
Operational history
2009
ROKS Munmu the Great was the first ship sto be deployed as part of the unit to Somali waters on March 13, 2009.[5] On April 17, it deterred pirates from boarding the cargo vessel Puma, which was registered in Denmark.[4][6] On May 4, the Munmu the Great responded to a distress call by the North Korean merchant vessel Dabaksol.[6] A Westland Lynx military helicopter was launched to protect the Dabaksol until the pirates had fled. The North Korean sailors thanked the members of the unit before proceeding to India. A member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea stated, "This is the first time that the South Korean navy has rescued a North Korean cargo ship from a pirate’s attack. According to the international law of the sea, we should help all vessel[s] regardless of their nationality."[7]
ROKS Dae Joyeong was dispatched in July 2009 to relieve the Munmu the Great, and rescued four civilian vessels. In August, the Dae Joyeong raided a pirate vessel that had been pursuing the Bahamian container ship Notos Scan. In September, it freed the Cypriot commercial vessel Alexandria, along with five Yemeni crew members who were being held by pirates.[4]
ROKS Yi Sun-shin was deployed in November 2009 to become the third ship of the unit. It defeated pirates twice while escorting 460 vessels during its tour of duty.[4]
2010
On April 4, 2010, Somali pirates took over the South Korean supertanker Samho Dream along with its 24 crew members, including five Koreans and nineteen Filipinos.[8] When the Yi Sun-shin pursued the hijacked vessel, the pirates threatened to kill the tanker crew.[9]
ROKS Kang Gamchan relieved the Yi Sun-shin in May 2010, and transported injured crew members from a Bahamian drilling ship to a hospital later that month. In August, the Kang Gamchan also provided medical assistance to the crew of a ship registered in Hong Kong.[4]
ROKS Wang Geon was deployed later that year to become the fifth ship of the unit. Among the 432 vessels it escorted was the Samho Dream, which had finally been released by pirates in November for a record ransom payment of $9.5 million.[4]
2011 rescue operation
Main article: Operation Dawn of Gulf of AdenOn January 21, 2011, the Cheonghae Unit rescued the crew of the Samho Jewelry, a chemical tanker held hostage by Somali pirates; 8 pirates were killed, and 5 were captured. The captain of the tanker was wounded during the operation, but the rest of the crew members were unhurt.[10]
Unit rotation
Rotation Size List of ships Departure Start End Arrival Notes 1st 300 DDH-976 Munmu the Great 2009-03-13 2009-04-14 2009-08-19 2009-09-14 [5] 2nd 300 DDH-977 Dae Joyeong 2009-07-16 2009-08-21 2009-12-21 2010-01-18 [4] 3rd 300 DDH-975 Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin 2009-11-20 2009-12-23 2010-05-20 [4] 4th 300 DDH-979 Kang Gamchan 2010-04-02 2010-04-22 [4] 5th 300 DDH-978 Wang Geon 2010-07-09 2010-09-10 2011-01 [3] 6th 300 DDH-981 Choi Young 2010-12-28 2011-05-27 [3] 7th 300 DDH-976 Munmu the Great 2011-04-05 2011-05-06 See also
- Combined Task Force 150
- List of ships attacked by Somali pirates in 2011
- Piracy in Somalia
References
- ^ a b "Remaining 7 S. Korean crew members of freed cargo ship to arrive home Wednesday". Yonhap. January 31, 2011. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2011/01/31/82/0301000000AEN20110131011400315F.HTML. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
- ^ Jung, Sung Ki (March 3, 2009). "New S. Korean Naval Unit To Deploy to Somalia". Defense News. http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3971516. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ a b c Kim, Deok-hyun (December 28, 2010). "Replacement for Korean anti-piracy unit to start mission off Somalia". Yonhap. http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/12/28/68/0301000000AEN20101228003600315F.HTML. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Kim, So-hyun (January 21, 2011). "Cheonghae Unit’s previous anti-piracy successes". The Korea Herald. http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110121000822. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
- ^ a b Yook, Jeong-soo (March 13, 2009). "Munmu the Great Deployed to Somalia". The Dong-a Ilbo. http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2009031312028. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ^ a b "Cheonghae Unit’s Rescue of North Korean Merchant Ship". Hankook Ilbo (Korea Foundation). May 5, 2009. http://www.koreafocus.or.kr/design2/society/view.asp?volume_id=84&content_id=102505&category=D. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ^ "S. Korean navy rescues N. Korea cargo ship from pirates". The Hankyoreh. May 5, 2009. http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/353287.html. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
- ^ "South Korean navy pursues hijacked oil tanker". BBC News. April 5, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8603098.stm. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
- ^ Song, Sang-ho (January 20, 2010). "Seoul fraught by Somali pirates’ ship hijackings". The Korea Herald. http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110120000870. Retrieved February 3, 2011.
- ^ Guisnel, Jean (January 24, 2011). "La marine coréenne conduit un raid meurtrier contre des pirates somaliens [The Korean Navy conducts a deadly raid against Somali pirates]" (in French). Le Point. http://www.lepoint.fr/chroniqueurs-du-point/jean-guisnel/la-marine-coreenne-conduit-un-raid-meurtrier-contre-des-pirates-somaliens-24-01-2011-131099_53.php. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
Further reading
- Lee, Su-jin (December 31, 2009). "Overview of the ROK Forces Dispatched Abroad". ROK Angle (Korea Institute for Defense Analyses) (20): 2–3. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:kE4CPeXidSgJ:www.kida.re.kr/publication/pcrm_click.asp%3FNUid%3D202+Cheonghae+Unit&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShfA3kNvfcPAvLaIwvHCrEChJnJRdsxiP6Smu_nVmqsK2C6_OZs6pc1EnmD4en457p-SHJ0etM_s3TQa70LbIz9gnEilwssRzhxH6PozdlC-nsTUjqpIINBcaXlBaj0CmHdysBo&sig=AHIEtbRUot8ZfCmwFwJxVkIUM0Zhey0hiA.
External links
- Cheonghae Unit at KBS World
- Cheonghae Unit Dispatched to Chase Somali Pirates at Arirang News
Categories:- Military units and formations established in 2009
- Counter-terrorist organizations
- Military units and formations of South Korea
- Republic of Korea Navy
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