JS ''Uraga'' (MST-463) is the

lead ship The lead ship, name ship, or class leader is the first of a series or class of ships all constructed according to the same general design. The term is applicable to naval ships and large civilian vessels. Large ships are very complex and may ...

of the s.

Construction and career

''Uraga'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

Hitachi Zosen Corporation is a major Japanese industrial and engineering corporation. It produces waste treatment plants, industrial plants, precision machinery, industrial machinery, steel mill process equipment, steel structures, construction machinery, tunnel boring ma ...

Maizuru is a city in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 78,644 in 34817 households and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Maizuru is located in northern Kyoto Pref ...

Shipyard on 19 May 1995 and launched on 22 May 1996. She was commissioned on 19 May 1997. She was transferred to the

Yokosuka District Force is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

. On 7 November 1999, she conducted transportation training for Japanese nationals abroad around

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

and

Sagami Bay lies south of Kanagawa Prefecture in Honshu, central Japan, contained within the scope of the Miura Peninsula, in Kanagawa, to the east, the Izu Peninsula, in Shizuoka Prefecture, to the west, and the Shōnan coastline to the north, while th ...

. In this training, , , , , and the

Ground Self-Defense Force The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

also participated. A guidance team formed by the 1st Airborne Brigade participated. On 13 March 2000, the minesweeping force was reorganized and incorporated as a ship under direct control. On 25 November 2001, she departed for the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea ( ar, اَلْبَحرْ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Bahr al-ˁArabī) is a region of the northern Indian Ocean bounded on the north by Pakistan, Iran and the Gulf of Oman, on the west by the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel ...

for cooperation and support activities based on the Act on Special Measures Against Terrorism. On 12 December, she entered the port of

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

with the escort ship , and put together 1,025 tents, 18,600 blankets, 7,925 vinyl sheets, 19,980 sleeping mats, and 19,600 water containers for the High Commissioner for Refugees. Handed over to the office. She left

Karachi Port The Port of Karachi ( ur, , ''Bandar gāh Karāchī'') is one of South Asia's largest and busiest deep-water seaports, handling about 60% of the nation's cargo (25 million tons per annum) located in Karachi, Pakistan. It is located on the Kar ...

on 13 December for Japan and returned on 31 December. From 21 April to 7 May 2004, she participated in the second Western Pacific minesweeping training conducted in the waters around

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

with the minesweeper and . On 4 August 2005,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

was dispatched to rescue the Russian deep-sea rescue boat AS28, which was unable to surface off the coast of Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky, ''Uraga'' alongside the submarine rescue ship , , . She returns on the 7th of the same month after a successful rescue of an airlifted British unmanned submersible. She is the first Maritime Self-Defense Force to carry out an international rescue mission. On 25 November, the same year, at the request of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

, she was dispatched to Karachi, Pakistan, along with the escort ship JS ''Sawagiri'' to carry supplies such as tents and blankets for refugees in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. After she carried out the relief supplies, she broke up with ''Sawagiri'' and returned to Japan on 31 December. On 16 July 2007, a disaster dispatch was carried out in the Niigata Chuetsu-oki Earthquake that occurred. On 11 March 2011, she was dispatched to the

Great East Japan Earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

caused by the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake. At the time of the earthquake, the Universal Shipbuilding Keihin Plant was inspecting annually, and because the engine was overhauled, it was not possible to dispatch immediately, so we will participate from 18 April after completion. In September of the same year, she was the first JMSDF ship to call with the at Da Nang Port in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and at

Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...

in the Andaman Islands,

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

. After that, she was called at

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

, Minasalman on 14 October, and participated in a multilateral minesweeping training co-sponsored by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

off Bahrain from the following 15th to 30th, and returned to Japan on 1 December. She participated in the US-sponsored international minesweeping training held in the Persian Gulf from 16 to 27 September 2012 with the minesweeper JS ''Hachijō''. From 4 to 26 April 2016, she participated in the 4th International Minesweeper Training hosted by the United States with the minesweeper in the waters around the Arabian Peninsula. On 1 July 2016, due to the reorganization of the Mine Warfare Force, the ships under the direct control of the group were abolished and incorporated into the 1st Mine Warfare Force. From 18 to 30 July 2018, she will conduct mine warfare training and special training for Japan-US-India joint minesweeping in

Mutsu Bay is a bay located within Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It has an east-west distance of approximately and a north-south distance of approximately at its eastern end, with a total area of approximately . ...

.https://www.mod.go.jp/msdf/release/201807/20180717.pdf

Gallery

File:Operating room in JMSDF Uraga (MST-463).jpg, JS ''Uraga'''s operating room File:Curry and rice at JMSDF Uraga (MST-463).jpg, Food aboard JS ''Uraga'' File:JMSDF Uraga (MST-463) in 2011-12 6.jpg, JS ''Uraga'''s builder plaque File:JS Uraga sails toward Yokosuka after the SDF Fleet Review 2006 b.jpg, JS ''Uraga'' underway in 2006. File:JS Uraga in SDF Fleet Review 2009 exercise day 1 a.jpg, JS ''Uraga'' underway during Fleet Review 2009. File:JMSDF MST463 Uraga 20090208.JPG, JS ''Uraga'' on 8 February 2009. File:JMSDF MST463 Uraga 20090208-2.JPG, JS ''Uraga'' on 8 February 2009. File:JS Uraga and JS Bungo at Yokosuka, -Oct. 2009 a.jpg, JS ''Uraga'' and at

on 22 October 2009. File:JMSDF Uraga (MST-463) in 2011-12 1.jpg, JS ''Uraga'' on 4 December 2011. File:JMSDF Uraga (MST-463) in 2011-12 2.jpg, JS ''Uraga'' on 4 December 2011. File:JMSDF Uraga (MST-463) in 2011-12 4.jpg, JS ''Uraga''s helipad on 4 December 2011. File:JMSDF Uraga (MST-463) in 2011-12 5.jpg, JS ''Uraga'' on 4 December 2011. File:JS Uraga, USS Pioneer and USS Ardent in IMCMEX 12, -20 Sep. 2012 a.jpg, JS ''Uraga'' alongside and on 20 September 2012. File:OPS-20 and OPS-14C on board JS Uraga (MST-463), -2 Jun. 2013 a.webm, JS ''Uraga''s radar OPS-20 and OPS-14C on 2 June 2013. File:INS Kadmatt (P29) with JS Uraga (MST-463) during an exercise.jpg, JS ''Uraga'' with during an exercise.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uraga (MST-463) 1996 ships Mine warfare vessels of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Ships built by Hitachi Zosen Corporation