Cheonghae Unit The Cheonghae Anti - piracy Unit ( Korean : 청해부대 , Hanja : 淸海部隊 ) was established by the Republic of Korea Navy to protect civilian ships near the coast of Somalia under Combined Task Force 151 . The naval task force is named after the historical 9th - century Korean military base Cheonghaejin . Deployed from Jinhae Naval Base , the modern - day unit is responsible for safely escorting hundreds of commercial vessels and several rescues involving ships from The Bahamas , Denmark , North Korea and South Korea . In January 2011 , commandos in the Cheonghae Unit successfully executed a highly - publicized rescue of a South Korean tanker , freeing crew members held hostage by Somali pirates . Operational history . 2009 . was the first ship to be deployed as part of the unit to Somali waters on March 13 , 2009 . On April 17 , it deterred pirates from boarding the cargo vessel " Puma " , which was registered in Denmark . On May 4 , the " Munmu the Great " responded to a distress call by the North Korean merchant vessel " Dabaksol " . A Westland Lynx military helicopter was launched to protect the " Dabaksol " until the pirates had fled . The North Korean sailors thanked the members of the unit before proceeding to India . A member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea stated , " This is the first time that the South Korean navy has rescued a North Korean cargo ship from a pirate ’ s attack . According to the international law of the sea , we should help all vessel [ s ] regardless of their nationality . " ROKS " Dae Joyeong " was dispatched in July 2009 to relieve the " Munmu the Great " , and rescued four civilian vessels . In August , the " Dae Joyeong " raided a pirate vessel that had been pursuing the Bahamian container ship " Notos Scan " . In September , it freed the Cypriot commercial vessel " Alexandria " , along with five Yemeni crew members who were being held by pirates . ROKS " Yi Sun - shin " was deployed in November 2009 to become the third ship of the unit . It defeated pirates twice while escorting 460 vessels during its tour of duty . 2010 . On April 4 , 2010 , Somali pirates took over the South Korean supertanker " Samho Dream " along with its 24 crew members , including five Koreans and nineteen Filipinos . When the " Yi Sun - shin " pursued the hijacked vessel , the pirates threatened to kill the tanker crew . ROKS " Kang Gamchan " relieved the " Yi Sun - shin " in May 2010 , and transported injured crew members from a Bahamian drilling ship to a hospital later that month . In August , the " Kang Gamchan " also provided medical assistance to the crew of a ship registered in Hong Kong . ROKS " Wang Geon " was deployed later that year to become the fifth ship of the unit . Among the 432 vessels it escorted was the " Samho Dream " , which had finally been released by pirates in November for a record ransom payment of $ 9 . 5 million . 2011 rescue operation . On January 21 , 2011 , the Cheonghae Unit rescued the crew of the " Samho Jewelry " , a chemical tanker held hostage by Somali pirates ; 8 pirates were killed , and 5 were captured . The captain of the tanker was wounded during the operation , but the rest of the crew members were unhurt .