Ship sunk in June is recovered

After 17 days of salvage operations, South Korea on Wednesday raised its navy patrol boat that sank during a sea border clash with North Korean warships in June. The boat was surfaced 53 days after it had gone down in the waters near the western maritime border of the peninsula.

The 150-ton boat was lifted by a crane from 27 meters under water, 30 kilometers off the western coast of Yeonpyeong Island. The boat was fastened with chain and placed on a barge. "The boat was brought to our Pyeongtaek port in Gyeonggi province," First Lieutenant Yoon Won-jae, a spokesman of the South Korean National Defense Ministry, said. "After inspection, we will repair and reuse the boat if its condition permits."

The navy had expected that the salvage work would take about two months because of strong tides and poor underwater visibility in the area where the operation took place. But the weather proved favorable and the boat had not capsized when it was submerged, making the job easier.

The June 29 gunfire exchange ripped a soccer ball-sized hole in the hull's right side, along with three other holes, the navy said. Hundreds of shell fragments and shrapnel were found, as well as dents in a number of places on the hull.

The salvage was done under joint military monitoring by South Korea and the United States, after North Korea had threatened to impede the operation. But North Korea ignored it, at least outwardly.

A 4,300-ton auxiliary salvage rescue ship, three search boats, a barge and sonar detectors were employed, with a total crew of 60.

In the general officer talks between the United Nations Command, which monitors the Korean armistice, and North Korea at the truce village of Panmunjeom on Aug. 6, North Korea had been informed of the salvage work schedule.

by Kim Min-seok