South Korea will deliver two decommissioned Haeuri-Class patrol vessels to Ecuador’s coastguard.

According to the press release of Korea Coast Guard (KCG), two recently decommissioned patrol vessels will be transferred to Ecuador's Coast Guard.

South Korean coast guard's patrol vessel (Picture source: Korean Internet)

The Haeuri-class-class patrol vessels with pennant numbers 302 and 303 are a class of Medium-Sized Patrol Vessel of the Republic of Korea Navy. The vessels have a length of 53.7 m, a beam of 7.4 m, and a draught of 2.5 m and were built by Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).

They entered service in December 1990 and December 1991 respectively and were decommissioned in October 2019 and January 2020. Both patrol vessels ended their service with the KCG’s Jeju command.

The two vessels are currently being refitted and painted in Ecuadorian colours at unspecified small and medium shipyards ahead of the planned transfer to Ecuador in May-June, according to a KCG press release.

The Korea Coast Guard is a South Korean law enforcement sub-agency responsible for maritime safety and control off the coast. The previous KCG is an external branch of Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries

Korea Coast Guard operates 4 classes of heavy vessels (over 1000 tons), 3 classes of medium vessels (over 250 tons), and 3 classes of light vessels.

The KCG also uses several types of 'special purpose watercraft', such as firefighting vessels, barges, high-speed scout boats, light patrols, and amphibious hovercraft.

The KCG aviation unit fields 6 fixed-wing aircraft and 16 rotary-wing aircraft. The Coast Guard also had its own asymmetric warfare unit named the 'Korean Coast Guard Special Operation Unit'.