S. Korea launches warship unit to combat pirates in Somali waters

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea launched a 300-strong naval unit Tuesday
to be deployed on a warship to piracy-infested Somali waters to protect its
commercial vessels, the Navy said.
About 460 South Korean vessels ply the route each year, according to the South
Korean government. Over 110 pirate-related incidents took place in the Gulf of
Aden in 2008, a five-fold jump from two years earlier.
The ceremony marking the launch of the "Cheonghae" unit took place in South
Korea's southeastern port city of Busan, the Navy said in a statement. Cheonghae
stands for an ancient naval base set up to combat pirates off the western coast
of the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea plans to deploy its Munmu the Great Destroyer to the Gulf of Aden in
mid-March. It will take approximately three weeks for the 4,500-ton warship to
reach its destination, naval officials say.
The ceremony came just a day after the National Assembly approved the motion to
join the U.S.-led multinational efforts to combat piracy in the region.
Somalia has not had a functional government nor maritime authorities since its
dictator was dethroned by warlords in 1991. Poverty has driven a large number of
locals to become pirates.
A number of countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia and
Russia, have already joined the anti-piracy campaign. The South Korean destroyer
is named after a seventh century conquerer.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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