ROKS Choe Yeong ( DDH - 981 ) ROKS " Choe Yeong " ( DDH - 981 ) ( , Hanja : 崔瑩 ) is a " Chungmugong Yi Sun - sin " class destroyer in the South Korean navy . It is named after the Korean general Choe Yeong . Design . The " Choe Yeong " was part of the second batch of " Chungmugong Yi Sun - sin " class destroyers that were delivered to the Republic of Korea Navy . She was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and was launched on 20 October 2006 , entering service on 4 September 2008 . She is about long , wide and displaces between 4 , 800 and 5 , 000 tons . Her propulsion unit is a CODOG unit , capable of propelling her at speeds of up to . She has a crew complement of 200 . Her armament consists of a 32 - cell VLS ( with space to install a 64 - cell system ) , a Mk 45 gun , a RAM launcher , a Goalkeeper CIWS and eight " Harpoon " anti - ship missile s . Other systems include an AN / SPS - 49 radar , an MW08 radar , and a DSQ - 23 sonar . History . The " Choe Yeong " was assigned to patrol the Northern Limit Line in November 2009 after a boundary dispute clash with North Korea , the first of its kind in seven years . In August 2010 , the ship participated in a series of naval drills in the Yellow Sea , four months after the sinking of the ROKS " Cheonan " . 2011 rescue operation . On 15 January 2011 , the Norwegian - owned chemical tanker " Samho Jewelry " was captured by Somali pirates while en route from the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka . The South Korean operator of the vessel , the Samho Shipping Company , was facing huge losses because it was obligated to continue paying Norwegian investors under its charter even while the vessel was held by pirates . However , the Norwegian government had no military presence in the area at the time . Eight South Koreans were among the 21 crewmembers being held hostage . The South Korean government dispatched the " Choe Yeong " , under Captain Cho Young - joo , commander of the Cheonghae Anti - piracy Unit . The " Choe Yeong " pursued the " Samho Jewelry " for nearly a week until the pirates aboard the tanker were fatigued . Several fake attacks were staged to exhaust the pirate crew . When some of the pirates left the ship to attempt another hijacking on a nearby Mongolian vessel , commandos from the Republic of Korea Naval Special Warfare Brigade boarded the " Samho Jewelry " while a Westland Lynx helicopter provided covering fire . Communications jamming was utilized to prevent the pirates from calling for assistance . The tanker was retaken with eight pirates killed and five captured . The captain of the " Samho Jewelry " survived a gunshot wound to the stomach while three navy personnel suffered " light scratches " . The rest of the tanker crew were unharmed . The " Choe Yeong " escorted the " Samho Jewelry " to Oman , where they docked at the port of Muscat on 31 January . The rescue was called " a perfect military operation " by Lieutenant General Lee Sung - ho of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea . 2011 Libya evacuation . The ROKS " Choe Yeong " was diverted from anti - piracy operations in the waters off of Somalia to evacuate South Korean nationals stranded in Libya . The " Choe Yeong " successfully evacuated 32 South Korean nationals on 4 March and docked in the Maltese port of Valletta . The " Choe Yeong " will remain on standby near Libyan waters to support " further evacuation efforts . "