South Korean coast guard to share anti-piracy, environmental experience

By Toan Dao May 3, 2016 | 12:44 am PT

The South Korean coast guard ship at Da Nang's Tien Sa Port. Photo by Vietnam People's Army Newspaper

A South Korean coast guard training vessel docked in Da Nang on Tuesday at the start of a four-day visit to the largest coastal city in Vietnam’s central region, the Vietnam People’s Army Newspaper said in a report on May 3.

The 4,000-ton Badaro is 121 meters in length and 16 meters in width. It arrived with 124 officers and 45 crew members on board, mostly from Korea's Coast Guard Academy.

Officers from the South Korean ship and their Vietnamese counterparts will exchange experience on tackling piracy and environmental pollution, as well as coast management, the report said.

On May 2, the French navy’s amphibious assault ship the Tonnerre arrived at Vietnam’s Cam Ranh International Port in the coastal central province of Khanh Hoa for a five-day visit, which will include a military exercise with the Vietnam Navy.

Cam Ranh also welcomed the hydrographic research and charting vessel the Marshal Gelovani from Russia’s Pacific Fleet on May 2 to take on basic supplies for its voyage, the VNA said in another report on Monday.

On April 12, two Japanese destroyers dropped anchor at the new international port, which opened in March this year. The new port is separate from the existing naval base, home to Vietnam’s submarine fleet and other key naval vessels.