South Korean shipbuilder Kangnam Corporation launched Goseong (MSH 577) for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) on 15 March. Goseong is the sixth and final Yangyang-class minesweeper currently in service on the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN). The ship entered the water in a ceremony held at the company’s facilities in Busan. The naming of minesweeper ships is taken from the names of counties and towns adjacent to a naval base. Goseong is the name of coastal town of Goseong County in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
The first Yangyang-class ship was launched and commissioned in 1999, which was named Yangyang. Two more, Ongjin and Haenam, were launched a few years later. Compared to Ganggyeong-class, Yangyang-class ships improved minesweeping ability, and increased hull size. Goseong, which is expected to enter RoKN service in 2022 and be homeported at the Jinhae naval base, is the final vessel of the second batch of three Yangyang-class minesweepers ordered in November 2010. The first ship of that upgraded batch, Namhae.
Yangyang-class ships are 60 metres (196 ft 10 in) long, 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in) wide. They are equipped with Multi-purpose machine gun, a 20 mm (0.8 in) main gun, and Mine Disposal Vehicle (MDV). The main missions are gathering data of ports in the Korean region, and searching naval mine and minesweeping, in wartime. They sometimes used at finding and recovering North Korean missiles, by using Variable Depth Sonar to detect missile fragments.
They use two Voith Schneider Propellers as propulsion, to control the ship more precisely. To perform minesweeping activities, mechanical/inductive minesweeping device and sonars are equipped. To protect the ship from magnetic mine, the ship’s hull is made of fibre-reinforced plastic, which does not have a magnetic attraction, and lasts longer than commonly used material. It also minimized metallic equipment to tightly control the magnetic material inside the ship. Steel objects that are brought into the ship, like canned food, are heavily restricted and strictly controlled.
