Navy records 1 million miles of accident-free submarine operations

SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean Navy has marked 1 million miles of accident-free submarine operations, a feat achieved 16 years after the country began operating its first 209-class submarine in 1992, the Navy said.

"No accidents recorded by submarines is especially meaningful compared with such
achievements made by other weapons systems because submarines rely solely on
sound to find their routes and identify enemy vessels," the Navy said in a press
release.
The one million mile record is equivalent to circumnavigating the earth 47 times,
according to the Navy.
"It is a great achievement, probably the world's first to cover a distance equal
to covering the earth 47 times without a single accident," it said.
About 43 countries in the world currently operate submarines, though few, if any,
have achieved the 1-million-mile record, Navy officials said.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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