Pyeongtaek Vessel's retirement ceremony to be held in Jinhae

The Navy said Tuesday that the retirement ceremony of the Pyeongtaek Vessel, which has served as a rescue ship in territorial waters for the past 20 years, will be held at the Jinhae Port in South Gyeongsang Province on Wednesday. The Pyeongtaek is the last vessel that the Korean Navy adopted from U.S. Navy.

The Pyeongtaek was constructed in the U.K. in 1968 and was operated under the name View Port by the U.S. Navy from 1972 to 1996. Adopted by the Korean Navy in 1997, it has carried out the duty of rescuing sunken and stranded ships, towing ships and eliminating hurdles in ocean routes and waterways. It was also injected in the Taean oil spill incident in 2007, salvage of Cheonan vessel in 2010 and search for missing people for Sewol ferry in 2014. Equipped with a decompression chamber, it was also used to support the treating of Jeju female divers' paralysis.

"The Pyeongtaek had marked a new era in the history of Navy rescue operation, and will be remembered as an important comrade," Pyeongtaek captain Moon Jong-hwa said. After retirement, the Pyeongtaek will be reformed from within and be donated to its sister city, Pyeongtaek, in 2018 to be used as a national defense experience center.

Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com