ROKS Choi Young (DDH-981)
Encyclopedia

ROKS Choi Young (DDH-981) ' onMouseout='HidePop("17618")' href="/topics/Hanja">Hanja
Hanja
Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...

: 崔榮) is a Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class
Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyer
Chungmugong Yi Sun-shin class destroyers are multipurpose destroyers of the Republic of Korea Navy. The lead ship of this class, ROKS Chungmugong Yi Sunshin, was launched in May 2002 and commissioned in December 2003...

 destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

 in the South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n navy
Republic of Korea Navy
The Republic of Korea Navy or the ROK Navy is the branch of the South Korean armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations and amphibious landing operations. The ROK Navy includes the Republic of Korea Marine Corps, which is a quasi-autonomous organization...

. It is named after the Korean general Choe Yeong
Choe Yeong
Choe Yeong , also romanized as Choi Young, was a Korean general born in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, in Goryeo .-Early years:...

.

Design

The Choi Young was part of the second batch of Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyers that were delivered to the Republic of Korea Navy
Republic of Korea Navy
The Republic of Korea Navy or the ROK Navy is the branch of the South Korean armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations and amphibious landing operations. The ROK Navy includes the Republic of Korea Marine Corps, which is a quasi-autonomous organization...

. She was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries
Hyundai Heavy Industries
Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. is the world's largest shipbuilding company, headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea. The company is a subsidiary of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group...

 and was launched on October 20, 2006, entering service on September 4, 2008. She is about 150 metres (492.1 ft) long, 17 metres (55.8 ft) wide and displaces
Displacement (ship)
A ship's displacement is its weight at any given time, generally expressed in metric tons or long tons. The term is often used to mean the ship's weight when it is loaded to its maximum capacity. A number of synonymous terms exist for this maximum weight, such as loaded displacement, full load...

 between 4,800 and 5,000 tons. Her propulsion unit is a CODOG
Combined diesel or gas
Combined diesel or gas ' is a type of propulsion system for ships that need a maximum speed that is considerably faster than their cruise speed, particularly warships like modern frigates or corvettes....

 unit, capable of propelling her at speeds of up to 30 knots (36.5 mph). She has a crew complement of 200. Her armament consists of a 32-cell VLS
Vertical Launching System
A vertical launching system is a system for holding and firing missiles on surface ships and submarines used by many navies around the world. Each VLS system consists of a number of cells, which can hold one or more missiles ready for firing...

 (with space to install a 64-cell system), a Mk 45 gun, a RAM missile
RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile
The RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile in use by the American, German, South Korean, Greek, Turkish, Saudi and Egyptian navies. It was intended originally and used primarily as a point-defense weapon against anti-ship cruise missiles...

, a Goalkeeper CIWS
Goalkeeper CIWS
Goalkeeper is a Dutch close-in weapon system introduced in 1979 and in use , which primarily defends ships against incoming missiles and ballistic shells. This system consists of an autocannon and an advanced radar which in typically six seconds detects incoming fire, determines its trajectory,...

 and eight Harpoon anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missile
Anti-ship missiles are guided missiles that are designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea-skimming type, many use a combination of inertial guidance and radar homing...

s. Other systems include an AN/SPS-49
AN/SPS-49
The AN/SPS-49 is a United States Navy two-dimensional, long range air search radar built by Raytheon that can provide contact bearing and range. It is a primary air-search radar for numerous ships in the U.S...

 radar, an MW08
MW08
Thales Naval Nederland MW08 is a G-band 3D target indication radar, part of the 3D multibeam 'SMART' family which includes E/F band SMART-S/SMART-S Mk2 and D band SMART-L.MW08 transmits six 2 by 12 degree stacked beams up to 70 degrees for height finding and is capable of fully...

 radar, and a DSQ-23 sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...

.

History

The Choi Young was assigned to patrol the Northern Limit Line
Northern Limit Line
The Northern Limit Line or North Limit Line is a disputed inter-Korea maritime demarcation line in the Yellow Sea between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on the north, and the Republic of Korea on the south...

 in November 2009 after a boundary dispute clash with North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

, the first of its kind in seven years. In August 2010, the ship participated in a series of naval drills in the Yellow Sea
Yellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...

, four months after the sinking
ROKS Cheonan sinking
The ROKS Cheonan sinking occurred on 26 March 2010, when the Cheonan, a South Korean Navy ship carrying 104 personnel, sank off the country's west coast near Baengnyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing 46 seamen...

 of the ROKS Cheonan
ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772)
ROKS Cheonan was a South Korean Pohang-class corvette of the Republic of Korea Navy , commissioned in 1989. On 26 March 2010, it broke in two and sank near the sea border with North Korea...

.

2011 rescue operation

On January 15, 2011, the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

-owned chemical tanker
Chemical tanker
A chemical tanker is a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk.Ocean-going chemical tankers generally range from to in size, which is considerably smaller than the average size of other tanker types due to the specialised nature of their cargoes and the size restrictions of the...

 Samho Jewelry
MV Samho Jewelry
MV Samho Jewelry is a Norwegian-owned and South Korean-operated chemical tanker. She was hijacked by Somali pirates on January 15, 2011 and rescued six days later by South Korean Navy commandos.-Description:...

 was captured by Somali pirates
Piracy in Somalia
Piracy off the coast of Somalia has been a threat to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War in the early 21st century...

 while en route from the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

 to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. The South Korean operator of the vessel, the Samho Shipping Company, was facing huge losses because it was obligated to continue paying Norwegian investors under its charter even while the vessel was held by pirates. However, the Norwegian government had no military presence in the area at the time. Eight South Koreans were among the 21 crewmembers being held hostage.

The South Korean government dispatched the Choi Young, under Captain Cho Young-joo, commander of the Cheonghae Anti-piracy Unit
Cheonghae Unit
The Cheonghae Anti-piracy Unit was established by the Republic of Korea Navy to protect civilian ships near the coast of Somalia under Combined Task Force 151...

. The Choi Young pursued the Samho Jewelry for nearly a week until the pirates aboard the tanker were fatigued. Several fake attacks were staged to exhaust the pirate crew. When some of the pirates left the ship to attempt another hijacking on a nearby Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

n vessel, commandos from the Republic of Korea Naval Special Warfare Brigade boarded the Samho Jewelry while a Westland Lynx
Westland Lynx
The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to the development of both battlefield and naval variants...

 helicopter provided covering fire. Communications jamming
Communications jamming
In telecommunication, the term communications jamming has the following meanings:#The portion of electronic jamming that is directed against communications circuits and systems....

 was utilized to prevent the pirates from calling for assistance. The tanker was retaken with eight pirates killed and five captured. The captain of the Samho Jewelry survived a gunshot wound to the stomach while three navy personnel suffered "light scratches". The rest of the tanker crew were unharmed.

The Choi Young escorted the Samho Jewelry to the Oman
Oman
Oman , officially called the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab state in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by the United Arab Emirates to the northwest, Saudi Arabia to the west, and Yemen to the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the...

, where they docked at the port of Muscat
Muscat, Oman
Muscat is the capital of Oman. It is also the seat of government and largest city in the Governorate of Muscat. As of 2008, the population of the Muscat metropolitan area was 1,090,797. The metropolitan area spans approximately and includes six provinces called wilayats...

 on January 31. The rescue was called "a perfect military operation" by Lieutenant General Lee Sung-ho of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea
Joint Chiefs of Staff (Republic of Korea)
Joint Chiefs of Staff of Republic of Korea is a group of Chiefs from each major branch of the armed services in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. Unlike his/her United States counterpart, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has Operational Control over all military personnel of the Armed...

.

2011 Libya evacuation

The ROKS Choi Young was diverted from anti-piracy operations in the waters off of Somalia to evacuate South Korean nationals stranded in Libya. The Choi Young successfully evacuated 32 South Korean nationals on March 4th and docked in the Maltese port of Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...

. The Choi Young will remain on standby near Libyan waters to support "further evacuation efforts."

See also



External links

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