The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries says that an antipiracy drill will be held off Geoje Island in South Gyeongsang Province on Tuesday afternoon.
 
According to the ministry, the exercise is aimed at boosting the nation’s capabilities to rescue South Korean ships from pirates and checking their emergency communication and response systems.
  
Some 350 people from the ministry, the Navy and private shippers will participate in the drill along with a merchant ship, the 44-hundred-ton destroyer “King Munmu the Great,” a high-speed naval vessel and Lynx helicopters.
 
The exercise simulates a scenario in which South Korean naval forces are dispatched to rescue a South Korean ship and its crew hijacked by pirates in waters off Somalia. The drill will also check whether South Korean ships fully follow safety guidelines in an emergency and whether the government operates a proper response system.