Are Navys Minesweepers Properly Deployed?
It took 49 hours after the Navy corvette Cheonan sank in an unexplained explosion in waters 1.5 miles (about 2.78 km) southwest of Baeknyeong Island on March 26 for two minesweepers to arrive at the site and find the stern of the ship an hour later. The 730-ton minesweepers had come from Jinhae Naval Base in South Gyeongsang Province and found the stern at a point 200 yards (about 183 m) northwest of the scene of the blast. The bodies of 36 sailors were recovered from the stern on April 14. If the minesweepers had arrived earlier, it would have been possible to find the missing sailors much sooner. One of the key problems the sinking of the Cheonan has demonstrated is how difficult it is for minesweepers to reach waters either in the West or East Sea quickly in the current circumstances. It is a long haul from Jinhae to the West Sea, and it is impossible for minesweepers to travel at high speed. The minesweepers arrived at the scene after they had traveled for 38 hours at a speed of 12
