Cheonghae Unit
Introduction The '''Republic of Korea Navy Somali Sea Escort Task Group''' (), also known as '''Cheonghae Unit''' () was established by the Republic of Korea Navy to protect civilian ships near the coast of Somalia under Combined Task Force 151.The naval task force is named after the historical 9th-century Korean military base Cheonghaejin.Deployed from Jinhae Naval Base, the modern-day unit is responsible for safely escorting hundreds of commercial vessels and several rescues involving ships from The Bahamas, Denmark, North Korea and South Korea. In January 2011, commandos in the Cheonghae Unit successfully executed a highly publicized rescue of a South Korean tanker, freeing crew members held hostage by Somali pirates.
Operational history ===2009=== was the first ship to be deployed as part of the unit to Somali waters on March 13, 2009.On April 17, it deterred pirates from boarding the cargo vessel ''Puma'', which was registered in Denmark. On May 4, the ''Munmu the Great'' responded to a distress call by the North Korean merchant vessel ''Dabaksol''. A Westland Lynx military helicopter was launched to protect the ''Dabaksol'' until the pirates had fled. The North Korean sailors thanked the members of the unit before proceeding to India. A member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea stated, "This is the first time that the South Korean navy has rescued a North Korean cargo ship from a pirate’s attack. According to the international law of the sea, we should help all vessels regardless of their nationality. "ROKS ''Dae Joyeong'' was dispatched in July 2009 to relieve the ''Munmu the Great'', and rescued four civilian vessels. In August, the ''Dae Joyeong'' raided a pirate vessel that had been pursuing the Bahamian container ship ''Notos Scan''. In September, it freed the Cypriot commercial vessel ''Alexandria'', along with five Yemeni crew members who were being held by pirates.ROKS ''Yi Sun-shin'' was deployed in November 2009 to become the third ship of the unit. It defeated pirates twice while escorting 460 vessels during its tour of duty.===2010===ROKS ''Kang Gamchan''On April 4, 2010, Somali pirates took over the South Korean supertanker ''Samho Dream'' along with its 24 crew members, including five Koreans and nineteen Filipinos. When the ''Yi Sun-shin'' pursued the hijacked vessel, the pirates threatened to kill the tanker crew.ROKS ''Kang Gamchan'' relieved the ''Yi Sun-shin'' in May 2010, and transported injured crew members from a Bahamian drilling ship to a hospital later that month. In August, the ''Kang Gamchan'' also provided medical assistance to the crew of a ship registered in Hong Kong.ROKS ''Wang Geon'' was deployed later that year to become the fifth ship of the unit. Among the 432 vessels it escorted was the ''Samho Dream'', which had finally been released by pirates in November for a record ransom payment of $9.5 million.===2011 rescue operation===ROKS ''Yi Sun-shin''On January 21, 2011, the Cheonghae Unit rescued the crew of the ''Samho Jewelry'', a chemical tanker held hostage by Somali pirates; 8 pirates were killed, and 5 were captured. The captain of the tanker was wounded during the operation, but the rest of the crew members were unhurt.===2021 covid-19 infections===On 19 July, 2021, it is reported that 247 out of 301 crew members of the 34th contingent of the Cheonghae Unit on the ''Munmu the Great'' was tested positive for the covid-19.Two Korean Air Force KC-330 departed with 200 replacement members to transport the 301 entire crew members back to South Korea. After returning to South Korea, it is revealed that 270 crew members are tested positive.===Unit rotation=== Rotation Size List of ships Sailing off Mission start Mission end Return to port Notes & events1st300DDH-976 ''Munmu the Great''13 March 200916 April 200919 August 200914 September 20092nd300DDH-977 ''Dae Jo-yeong''16 July 200919 August 200923 December 200918 January 20103rd300DDH-975 ''Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin''20 November 200923 December 200921 April 201020 May 20104th300DDH-979 ''Gang Gam-chan''2 April 201021 April 201012 September 20104 October 20105th300DDH-978 ''Wang Geon''9 July 201013 September 201028 December 201020 January 20116th300DDH-981 ''Choe Yeong''8 December 201029 December 20105 May 201127 May 2011Operation Dawn of Gulf of AdenLibyan Civil War7th300DDH-975 ''Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin''5 April 20116 May 201112 September 20114 October 20118th300DDH-976 ''Munmu the Great''12 August 201113 September 201114 January 201210 February 20129th300DDH-977 ''Dae Jo-yeong''16 December 201115 January 201222 May 201215 June 201210th300DDH-978 ''Wang Geon''23 April 201223 May 201211 September 201222 October 201211th300DDH-979 ''Gang Gam-chan''20 August 201212 September 2012
See also *Combined Task Force 151*List of ships attacked by Somali pirates in 2011*Piracy in Somalia
References
Further reading *
External links * Cheonghae Unit at KBS World* Cheonghae Unit Dispatched to Chase Somali Pirates  at Arirang News