First Deployment for Hansando-class Ship's Cruise Training

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] The latest stealth-designed warship, Hansando, is setting sail for an ocean navigation training exercise. This is the first time the training ship Hansando is being deployed. Until now, the Navy has utilized frontline combat ships performing operational missions in forward sea areas for maritime practical training.

According to the Navy on the 2nd, the 77th class cadets of the Korea Naval Academy will depart from Jinhae Naval Base for a 110-day ocean navigation training, visiting 10 ports in 9 countries.

This cruise training squadron consists of 164 cadets from the 77th class and about 470 crew members. The ships participating are the 4,500-ton training ship Hansando (ATH-81) and the 4,200-ton logistics support ship Daecheong (AOE-58).

The cruise training squadron, which departed from Jinhae Port on this day, will call at 10 ports in 9 countries in sequence, starting with Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Klang, Malaysia; Chennai, India; Jakarta, Indonesia; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; Sydney, Australia; Auckland, New Zealand; Suva, Fiji; and Hawaii and Guam, USA, conducting training and various military diplomatic activities.

Started in 1954 and now in its 69th iteration, the Navy cruise training targets 4th-year cadets about to be commissioned as officers. Through ocean navigation training, cadets develop the capabilities and military expertise necessary to perform duties as junior officers and cultivate international military leadership.

Hansando measures 142 meters in length and 18 meters in height, with a light displacement of 4,500 tons. In addition to 120 crew members, it has quarters to accommodate about 300 trainees, with classrooms and practical training spaces systematically separated to enable optimal education and training. Hansando is equipped with the state-of-the-art ‘CBT’ (Computer Based Training) system, allowing simulated combat training and education on destroyers, frigates, and various other naval vessels operated by the Navy.

Notably, Hansando is equipped with three operating rooms, a clinic, and negative pressure isolation rooms capable of treating critically ill patients, enabling response to infectious diseases. It can also perform various relief missions such as medical support during maritime accidents and rapid personnel transfer by helicopter.

The ship’s name, ‘Hansando,’ is derived from the name of Hansan Island in Tongyeong City, Gyeongnam Province, where the Samdosuguntongjeyeong (Naval Headquarters of the Three Provinces) was established during the Imjin War.

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