South Korean Navy News

The defense company Babcock International has secured a contract for additional work on the South Korean Navy’s submarine program.The seven-year contract, awarded by Hanwha Ocean, is to manufacture and install the weapons handling launch system (WHLS) on Boat 6 of the Jangbogo-III class boat.Boat 6, namely ‘Jangbogo-III Batch-II Boat 3’, along with the rest of the class, will use Babcock’s air turbine pump and programmable firing valve launch system.Key elements of the WHLS will be designed and produced in the UK…

North and South Korea exchanged warning shots off the west coast on Monday, accusing each other of breaching their maritime borders amid heightened military tension.The South's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it broadcast warnings and fired warning shots to see off a North Korean merchant vessel that crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea boundary, at around 3:40 a.m. (1840 GMT Sunday).The North's military said it fired 10 rocket artillery rounds after a South…

The U.S. Navy carrier Ronald Reagan is conducting drills with Japanese warships in seas south of the Korean peninsula, Japan's military said on Friday, in a show of naval power as Pyongyang threatens further nuclear and missile tests. The Reagan strike group will conduct a separate drill with the South Korean Navy in October, the defence ministry said in a statement distributed to South Korean lawmakers on Monday. The 100,000-ton Reagan, which is based in Japan, and its escort ships have been holding drills with Japanese navy vessels since Sept 11 in waters south and west of Japan's main islands, the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force said in a statement.

A North Korean patrol boat crossed into South Korean waters early on Monday and retreated after the South Korean navy fired warning shots, a South Korean military official said. The incursion came amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula, a day after North Korea fired a long-range rocket carrying a satellite into space, a launch that South Korea and other countries consider to be a missile test in disguise. The patrol boat crossed the Northern Limit Line, which North Korea does not recognise, in the Yellow Sea to the west of the peninsula, at 6:55 a.m. (21:55 GMT) near Socheongdo island, the official said. Yonhap news agency said the patrol boat crossed despite warning communications from the South Korean navy…

On October 30, 2015, at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, the heads of eight agencies fulfilling the functions of Coast Guard of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States signed a Joint Statement formally establishing the Arctic Coast Guard Forum (ACGF). The ACGF is an independent, informal, operationally-driven organization. It is not bound by treaty, but will work in cooperation with the Arctic Council to foster safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime activity in the Arctic region.

North Korea's military warned on Friday of "unannounced targeted strikes" against South Korea's navy, accusing the South of violating its territorial waters off the peninsula's west coast, the scene of deadly naval clashes in the past. Pyongyang's warning came during the annual crab fishing season, which runs until June in the waters off the west coast of the Korean peninsula. Naval forces from the two Koreas clashed during the same month in 1999 and 2002, killing scores of sailors on both sides. In March 2010, a South Korean navy ship was hit by a torpedo and sank off the west coast, killing 46 sailors. Seoul blames the attack on the North, although Pyongyang has denied any role.

Coast Guard search and rescue crews were relieved by Republic of Korea assets on Saturday in their search for 26 crewmembers from the fishing vessel 501 Oryong that capsized Nov. 30, 2014, near Chukotka, Russia, in the Bering Sea. The Coast Guard completed more than 24 searches covering more than 4,576 square miles utilizing two cutters, two helicopters, and multiple airplanes. Coast Guard crews will continue to partner with the Republic of Korea to provide search and rescue planning support. "The sympathies of the Coast Guard go out to those impacted by this tragic maritime loss," said Rear Adm. Dan Abel, commander, Coast Guard 17th District. "To the families of those known to have perished, we grieve with you.

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) search and rescue crews were relieved by Republic of Korea assets on Saturday in their search for 26 crewmembers from the fishing vessel 501 Oryong that capsized Nov. 30, 2014, near Chukotka, Russia, in the Bering Sea. The USCG completed more than 24 searches covering more than 4,576 square miles utilizing two cutters, two helicopters, and multiple airplanes. Coast Guard crews will continue to partner with the Republic of Korea to provide search and rescue planning support. Two Republic of Korea Navy P-3 Orion aircraft joined the search for survivors on Dec. 6, 2014.

A South Korean Navy admiral toured a Chinese warship in a rare opening by Beijing to its People's Liberation Army vessel last week during U.S.-led Pacific RIMPAC maritime drills, according to Yonhap News Agency, citing China's defense ministry. Rear Adm. Yun Jeong-sang, who commands South Korean Navy vessels participating in the current RIMPAC multinational naval exercises, visited the Chinese guided-missile destroyer Haikou. Yun and other Korean officers were briefed about information on the Haikou destroyer and they were reportedly interested in and listened attentively to the introduction, according to the China defense ministry statement. Source: Yonhap News Agency

An Improved Risk and Safety Assessment Process for the offshore oil & gas industry – and just in time. Alion’s Measure of Total Integrated System Survivability (MOTISS) has been around a long time. Having previously earned its stripes primarily for naval applications, Alion began to market the service to the offshore oil & gas industry in the messy wake of the Macondo disaster. That event brought to the forefront, more than ever, the need to prepare for similar occurrences in the future and more importantly, increase industry’s ability to conduct analysis. Today, a version called MOTISS-IBA (Integrated Barrier Analysis) brings the same comprehensive power of MOTISS to the offshore oil industry that previously was only available to the world’s Navies.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) has clinched a 322.6 billion won (US$305.8 million) deal to build a frigate that will help it exceed its 2013 order target of $13 billion, reports Yonhap News Agency. Citing DSME, Yonhap informs that the contract with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration entails building and delivering the warship to the South Korean Navy by 2017. The latest contract leaves Daewoo Shipbuilding with cumulative orders of 57 ships and offshore plants worth $13.6 billion for this year. Source: Yonhap News Agency

The South Korean Navy plans to build nine 3,000-ton submarines by 2030 to increase the length of its underwater operations and improve its precision strike capabilities, Yonhap News reported. Yonhap said it received the information from an anonymous military source who said the submarines were scheduled to be built between 2020 and 2030. Precise designs were allegedly started earlier this year. The new diesel-powered submarines will be equipped with vertical launchers that will dramatically improve the long-range precision strike capabilities of the Navy's submarine-to-surface missiles, according to the source. They are also expected to operate underwater for much longer than their smaller 1,800-ton and 1,200-ton counterparts.

In 2009, the Military Sealift Command offshore petroleum distribution system ship MV Vice Adm. K.R. Wheeler (foreground) and Military Sealift Command tanker USNS Lawrence H. Gianella (background) practice running a float hose between the two ships during a one-day exercise off the coast of Yeosu, South Korea. (U.S. Navy photo by Edward Baxter, taken off Yeosu, South Korea on Aug. Military Sealift Command offshore petroleum distribution system ship MV Vice Adm. K.R. Wheeler participated in a combined, joint military exercise off the coast of Anmyeon, Republic of Korea on March 23.

According to a report from AFP, Seoul newspapers on Jan. 22 praised South Korean navy commandos who battled pirates off the coast of Somalia to release captured crew. In a pre-dawn operation about 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) off northeast Somalia on Jan. 21, special forces stormed a South Korean tanker and freed all the hostages, killing eight pirates and capturing five others in compartment-to-compartment battles. (Source: AFP)

According to a March 26 report from BBC News, about 40 sailors are missing after a South Korean navy ship sank near the border with North Korea, Yonhap news agency said citing military officials. The patrol vessel, with 104 people aboard, sank after an unexplained explosion tore through its hull. Several sailors also died, officials were quoted as saying. (Source: BBC News)

On July 2, 2009, a contract was signed in Ankara by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW), a company of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems AG (TKMS), and MarineForce International LLP (MFI) for the construction of six submarines within the Turkish “New Type Submarine” program. The contract comprises the delivery of six material packages for the construction of submarines based on Class 214. The contract was concluded between the HDW/MFI Consortium and the Turkish defense procurement authority.

The South Korean Navy's 1,300-ton submarine Lee Eokgi is participating in a multinational naval exercise designed to promote cooperation and interoperability in the submarine rescue arena in Asian waters, Navy officials said. The Pacific Reach 2007, held in the waters off the HMAS Stirling Naval base in Western Australia from Nov. 26 to Dec. 7, brings nine Asia-Pacific naval forces together to improve submarine rescue capabilities and make them familiar with each other's submarine rescue equipment. The drill is also aimed at developing new submarine rescue techniques. Other participating nations are the United States, Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, China and Malaysia.

SAM Electronics of Hamburg has been awarded a major contract for supply and installation of advanced degaussing systems aboard five of the South Korean Navy’s new KDX-II frigates being built at the Daewoo and Hyundai yards. An option for equipping two further vessels is pending. Featuring either manual or automatic control in master/slave modes, the computer-controlled systems basically comprise a degaussing control unit (DCU), a power supply assembly and a magnetic probe facility for acquisition of magnetic earth fields relative to ship’s coordinates. Each is additionally characterised by a reduced number of coil cables, so allowing for significant reductions in weight and costs of cabling. Other main advantages include an enhanced capability for magnetic calibration during ranging.

German industry is doing much to advance the development and application of fuel cell technology, and is responsible for many of the initiatives launched so far in the marine sector. Although skeptics in the commercial shipping domain discount the chances of a substantial uptake of fuel cell power aboard mercantile traders in the foreseeable future, there is a growing realization of the long-term possibilities offered by the technology, albeit in specialized areas. Use in auxiliary plant may hold out certain opportunities in some types of vessel. Minimal environmental impact, due to an absence of the noxious emissions produced by internal combustion engines…

Ten North Korean ships, including a patrol boat, briefly violated the western sea border with South Korea on Sunday, according to AP reports. The North's patrol boat crossed the frontier as it tried to usher back nine small boats that strayed into South Korean waters. It wasn't clear why the nine boats crossed the border, according to the report. North Korean boats periodically enter waters controlled by South Korea, and South Korean navy ships occasionally respond with warning shots. The navies of the two Koreas fought deadly skirmishes in the western sea in 1999 and 2002. Source: Associated Press

Thales Nederland has signed a contract for the delivery of five Goalkeeper systems to the Korean Navy. The total contract value is about $54 million. The systems are to be delivered within 28 months. Two Goalkeepers will be installed on the LPX (Landing Platform). This ship is scheduled to be launched in March 2005 and will be operational in June 2007. The other three Goalkeepers are destined for the three KDXII - Batch 2 destroyers, for which the contracts for the Combat Direction System, including sensors, were signed earlier this year. With this order, the total number of Goalkeepers supplied to the Korean Navy will be 14. Goalkeeper is Thales' answer to the need for close-in defense of ships against highly manoeuvrable missiles and aircraft.