MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine navy will incorporate a South Korean frigate for ocean patrolling

The Chungnam, FF953, Ulsam Class frigate was the third to be decommissioned, and is most probably the unit going to Argentina

The South Korean navy has started the documentation for the transfer of a decommissioned Ulsan Class frigate to the Argentine navy. A delegation of Argentine officers and crew members will be travelling to the South Korean base at Jinhae in the near future, according to Seoul's military attaché in Buenos Aires Lieutenant Colonel Ho Lim.

Lt. Cl. Lim was responsible for much of the ongoing negotiations, which started in 2018, and involved Argentine ministries of defense and foreign affairs.

The frigate is one of four decommissioned recently and was built in the eighties at the Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipping & Marine Engineering, shipyards.

With 2.300 tons displacement and 103 meters long the light frigate was built for surface to surface combat and antisubmarine activities, and in its original version was equipped with Harpoon missiles and torpedoes. She has a maximum speed of 34 knots and an autonomy of 8.000 nautical miles at a cruise speed of 16 knots. She is powered with two General Electric gas turbines, LM 2.500 and diesel support engines MTU 16V 538 TB82.

However the frigate to be delivered to Argentina will only have two 76mm cannons and four 30mm. Missiles and torpedoes launchers have been removed. This means her duties will be limited to those of ocean patrolling, supported with the four coastal patrol vessels Argentina has purchased from France,

Apparently the Argentine defense and foreign ministries wanted to make sure that before accepting the South Korean donation, spares and maintenance would be readily available for the Argentine navy. When negotiations took off last year Jane's Navy International revealed that the Chungnam, FF953, Ulsam Class frigate was the third to be decommissioned, and most probably given to Argentina.

Two corvettes, Po Hang Class are also being decommissioned, one of them apparently will be transferred to the Peruvian navy and the second could end at Puerto Belgrano.