• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Korea Coast Guard - Equipment

Republic of Korea Coast Guard was founded in 1953 with six retired ships from the navy. As of 2007 the Coast Guard had more about 22 of the 1,000-ton patrol ship (the large patrol ship program will be increased to 30), and about 39 patrol boats of 250 to 500-tons. Garrison and the implementation of the territorial sea salvage and other major tasks, Han Guohai Police had about 54% of large ships of more than 20 years of age.

As of July 2009, the KCG had 7,696 people (officers and technical operators) under its disposal. By 2010 the KCG had 278 naval vessels, two permanent airplanes and 15 helicopters. By 2014, it had developed into a mature force comprising nearly 300 vessels, 23 aircraft and over 10,000 personnel.

Sambongho [aka Sambong-ho or Sambong], the largest guard ship operated by KCG, watches over Dokdo Island coasts. It was built to counter Japanese encroachment on a disputed archipelago the Koreans call Dokdo and the Japanese Takeshima. Larger than the patrol boats of the Japanese coast guard, the ship is intended to show Korea is serious about its claim on the volcanic outcroppings poking above the waves roughly halfway between South Korea and Japan. Since 1954, South Korea has stationed a small police detachment on Dokdo.

Patrol Boat 1513 is a 1,500-ton-class vessel with 50 police officers aboard. It currently takes turns patrolling the nation’s easternmost islets of Dokdo with the 5,000-ton (empty displacement) Sambong, the heaviest class in the Coast Guard fleet. The second of a new class of vessels is scheduled to begin service in 2016 and with a water displacement of 5,000 tons will be the biggest vessel in the KCG fleet.

South Korean marine police announced July 31, 2007 that it would build new 3,000-ton large patrol ship. It is reported that the new ship will use diesel-powered , maximum speed 30 knots. Ship equipped with 40mm guns, ship rear features a helicopter hangar and landing floor. The new 3,000-ton patrol ship planned to build in 2008. On Sept. 18, 2009, the Korea Coast Guard launched its first hybrid-style Green Ship. This 3,000-ton ship uses an electrical motor when operating at low speeds and switches to a diesel engine when speeding up.

In 2008, the KCG embarked on a fleet expansion and modernization plan in order to meet the more stringent requirements regarding the guarantee of maritime safety and surveillance of the South Korean coast. The KCG modernization plan does not exclude the refurbishment of the existing armament and combat systems of old ships. For the 1000/1500/3000 classes, serial production of the ships will continue until the number 13, after which any newly constructed ship will restart the numbering sequence from 1, replacing the old ships. That makes the new-built ships easy to identify.

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (HHI) signed a contract to build five mid and large sized patrol vessels worth 149.9 billion won with Korea Marine Fund Corporation on July 23, 2009. The order includes one 3000 ton class offshore patrol vessel, one 1000 ton class vessel, one 500 ton class vessel and two 300 tons. The five ships had combined cost $130 million.

In January 2013 STX Offshore and Shipbuilding contracted to build three Coast Guard vessels for the Korea Coast Guard. The shipbuilder agreed to make two 3,000-ton boats and one with a displacement of 1,000 tons for a total 150 billion won ($132 million). Two more 3000 ton patrol ships, hull numbers 3001 and 3013, and one more 1000 ton ship, hull number 1011, will begin construction at STX, with the same hull designs as 1010 and 3012. STX Offshore's Jinhae shipyard was expected to begin the vessels' construction in 2013 and to deliver the units by the end of 2015.

South Korea on 24 September 2013 launched a new coast guard vessel to patrol around Takeshima, the pair of islets it controls in the Sea of Japan that are claimed by Japan. “Defending Dokdo is to defend the pride of the Republic of Korea,” said President Park Geun-hye at a Coast Guard Day ceremony in Incheon celebrating the launch of the 1,000-ton vessel of the Cheongryong class, according to the presidential office. The islets are called Dokdo in Korean. Park said South Korea will not tolerate any challenges to its sovereignty over its islands, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone. The new vessel is 91 meters long and can travel at speeds of up to 55 kph, according to Yonhap News Agency.

1 5000 Ton class
2 3000 Ton class
3 1500 Ton class
4 1000 Ton class
5 500 Ton class
6 300 Ton class
7 250 Ton class