This is the ROK Navy’s second delivery of a Pohang-class corvette, following the donation of the first, PCC Gyeongju, to Peru in 2016.
The corvette Suncheon has been renamed B.A.P Guise, after the Peruvian Navy’s founder and first Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). According to reports, the B.A.P Guise left Jinhae naval base on November 26th of last year, docking in Yokosuka, Hawaii, and San Diego before arriving in Kayaho, Peru, after a total of 41 days. Following a series of overhauls and maintenance, the ship was donated to Peru.
B.A.P Guise is scheduled to be used as the main asset that would participate in the U.S.-led international naval exercise RIMPAC (Rim of Pacific) and be in charge of the Peruvian Navy’s operations at open seas.
The Peruvian Minister of Defense, Mr. Juan Carasco expressed sincere gratitude to the Korean government and the ROK Navy by asking that the two countries do their best to enhance the bilateral friendship.
The Korean ambassador to Peru, H.E. Young-Joon Cho mentioned that Peru and Colombia are the only countries in South America that South Korea donated two naval ships, putting an emphasis on the fact that this donation symbolizes the bilateral friendship.
“Peru is a friendly state in South America where has market potential for exports from our defense industry, as the country is considering a military modernization project in its Army, Navy, and Air Force.”
H.E. Young-Joon Cho, the Korean Ambassador to Peru
1000-ton Pohang-class patrol corvette ship (PCC) Suncheon, which had been in service since 1988, performed patrolling duties near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea as a part of the ROK Navy’s 2nd Fleet as of 1989 and was distinguished during the Battle of Daecheong in 2009, against North Korea. PCC Suncheon officially retired in 2019, after serving for 7 years in the 3rd Fleet since 2012.
About Pohang-class corvette
The Pohang is a class of Patrol Combat Corvette (PCC) of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN). A total of 24 ships were built by several South Korean shipyards: Korea Shipbuilding Corporation, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding, and Korea Takoma.
The primary mission of the corvette is coastal line patrolling. Pohang class is deployed as the main force to monitor defense on the South Korean coast. These ships were equipped to perform anti-submarine, anti-ship, and anti-aircraft warfare operations in the littoral environment.
As the Pohang-class ships are progressively being phased out of the ROK Navy (being replaced by the new generation Incheon-class frigates, and then eventually by the FFX batch II and FFX batch III), several of the corvettes have been transferred to South Korea’s allies (namely Peru, Vietnam, the Philippines, Colombia and Egypt). The first-in-class ship is now a museum in Pohang city. The 14th ship of the class, ROKS Cheonan, was sunk on 26 March 2010 by a torpedo launched by a North Korean Yeono-class submarine, killing 46 sailors.
Pohang-class Main specifications:
- Length: 88m
- Beam: 10m
- Draft: 2.9m
- Displacement: 1220 loaded
- Propulsion: CODOG configuration (gas and diesel engines)
- Speed: 32 knots maximum; 15 knots cruising
- Range: 4000 miles
- Crew: 95
- Weapons: 2 x OTO Melara 76 mm/62 compact cannon; 2 x 2 Otobreda 40mm/70 cal; 2 x 2 RGM-84 Harpoon Block 1B; 3 x 2 Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes
