Korea Coast Guard moves forward with modernisation, expansion plans

[Zarvan]

A Korea Coast Guard Tae Geuk-class OPV pictured at sea. It is expected the eight new 500-ton OPVs will be broadly similar to the in-service vessels, although detail improvements are likely. Source: Korea Coast Guard via HHIC
Key Points

• South Korea's coastguard has unveiled plans to boost domestic shipbuilding and to improve maritime security
• Patrol fleet is also being strengthened, to counter illegal fishing activity

South Korea is progressing plans designed to bolster the output of its coastguard force.

Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction (HHIC) announced on 1 November that it has signed a contract to deliver five new 63 m, 500-ton Tae Geuk-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Korea Coast Guard (KCG). At a cost of KRW158.9 billion (USD138 million), the platforms are scheduled to be delivered by 2020.

Earlier, Busan-based shipbuilder Kangnam Corporation had announced on 31 October that it had signed a contract for three more Tae Geuk-class vessels; these 62 m platforms are scheduled to be delivered by 2019. The contract value was not disclosed.

South Korea's Public Procurement Service (PPS) is also seeking more bids for another coastguard project, to deliver a 3,000-ton OPV at a budgeted cost of KRW78.6 billion.

These developments are part of a new KCG shipbuilding plan, announced in early September 2016, for the construction of 30 large and small vessels, at a total budgeted cost of KRW440.9 billion, to be delivered in 2017-20. The plan aims to boost domestic shipbuilding, and also to strengthen maritime security in South Korean waters. KCG officials said that a first-stage allocation of KRW28.2 billion had been approved by the Korean National Assembly.

Under the plan, 23 of the 30 hulls are replacements for existing or decommissioned vessels, while 7 hulls are additions to fleet numbers.

As of November 2016, the KCG fleet numbered some 185 patrol vessels and at least 125 'special' vessels, giving a total of more than 310 hulls. The current patrol vessel fleet comprises 36 large OPVs with a displacement in excess of 1,000 tons, 39 medium-sized OPVs displacing 250-500 tons (including 15 Tae Geuk class), and 110 smaller inshore patrol vessels (IPVs) displacing less than 200 tons.

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