The Republic of Korea Navy Somali Sea Escort Task Group (), also known as Cheonghae Unit () was established by the

Republic of Korea Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ), also known as the ROK Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces, South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and Amphibious warfare, amphibious operations. The South ...

to protect civilian ships near the coast of

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

under

Combined Task Force 151 Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) is a multinational naval task force, set up in 2009 as a response to piracy attacks in the Gulf of Aden and off the eastern coast of Somalia. Its mission is to disrupt piracy and armed robbery at sea and to engag ...

. The naval

task force A task force (TF) is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology. Many ...

is named after the historical 9th-century Korean military base Cheonghaejin. 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 The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, North Korea and South Korea. In January 2011, commandos in the Cheonghae Unit successfully executed a highly publicized

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

of a South Korean tanker, freeing crew members held hostage by Somali pirates.

Operational history

2009

was the first ship to be deployed as part of the unit to Somali waters on March 13, 2009. On April 17, it deterred pirates from boarding the cargo vessel ''Puma'', which was registered in

. On May 4, the ''Munmu the Great'' responded to a distress call by the

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

n merchant vessel ''Dabaksol''. A

Westland Lynx The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to t ...

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 India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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 regardless of their nationality." 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

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

i crew members who were being held by pirates. 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.

2010

ROKS Kang Gamchan steams by a line of ROK Navy ships during the International Fleet Review

On April 4, 2010, Somali pirates took over the South Korean

supertanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cr ...

'' Samho Dream'' along with its 24 crew members, including five Koreans and nineteen Filipinos. When the ''Yi Sun-shin'' pursued the hijacked vessel, the pirates threatened to kill the tanker crew. 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 Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. 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.

2011 rescue operation

On 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.

2021 covid-19 infections

On 19 July, 2021, it is reported that 247 out of 301 crew members of the 34th contingent of the Cheonghae Unit on the ''Munmu the Great'' was tested positive for the

covid-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. Two Korean Air Force KC-330 departed with 200 replacement members to transport the 301 entire crew members back to South Korea. After returning to South Korea, it is revealed that 270 crew members are tested positive.

Unit rotation

References

External links

Cheonghae Unit
at

KBS World KBS World () is the international broadcasting division of the South Korean broadcast television network Korean Broadcasting System. The division operates KBS World TV, KBS World Radio, and . History The foreign-language radio broadcast from ...

Cheonghae Unit Dispatched to Chase Somali Pirates
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231814/http://www.arirang.co.kr/News/News_View.asp?category=2&code=Ne2&nseq=101809 , date=2016-03-03 at Arirang News Military units and formations established in 2009 Overseas deployments of South Korea armed forces Military counterterrorist organizations Military units and formations of South Korea Republic of Korea Navy Piracy in Somalia Anti-piracy Somalia–South Korea relations