Cheonghae Unit Arrives Near Hormuz... Mission to Commence Soon

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The Cheonghae Unit's Choi Young-class destroyer (4,400 tons) has arrived in the waters near the Strait of Hormuz, where the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is stationed.

On the 5th, a government official stated, "The 33rd Cheonghae Unit's Choi Young-class destroyer was conducting operations south of Muscat Port, Oman, when it received information that the Korean-flagged vessel 'Hanguk Chemiho' was seized by Iran. It was immediately dispatched to the waters near the Strait of Hormuz and arrived there early this morning."

The Choi Young-class destroyer plans to respond to the situation in close cooperation with the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) based in Bahrain, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

The Choi Young-class destroyer is composed of about 300 personnel, including a boarding and search team made up of special warfare (UDT) soldiers and an aviation unit operating maritime operation helicopters (LYNX). The Choi Young-class destroyer, as the 6th Cheonghae Unit, successfully carried out the 'Operation Dawn of Aden' on January 21, 2011, rescuing all 21 crew members of the Samho Jewelry ship who were kidnapped by pirates, and on April 21 of the same year, it successfully conducted the 'Rescue Operation of Hanjin Tianjin Ship' crew members.

This is reportedly the first time the unit has been deployed to carry out an operational mission in response to a Korean vessel being seized by Iran.

Meanwhile, the Korean vessel had a total of 20 people on board, including 5 Korean crew members such as the captain, first to third officers, and chief engineer, as well as 11 Myanmar nationals, 2 Indonesians, and 2 Vietnamese. According to Reuters, the U.S. State Department, through a spokesperson, demanded the immediate release of the Korean vessel from Iran.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.