South Korea plans to extend anti-piracy patrols closer to Strait of Hormuz

Seoul said pirates have recently ventured further from the Somali coast and added that it wanted to send a patrol aircraft to protect merchant ships off Oman while keeping its forces out of the ongoing Iran war. South Korea plans to extend its naval patrols from the Gulf of Aden to waters near Oman after a rise in piracy off Somalia's coast, its defence ministry said on Thursday. The navy’s Cheonghae Unit has escorted merchant ships off Somalia since 2009. Under the plan, it would also patrol near Duqm, a port in Oman about 650 kilometres from the Strait of Hormuz. The patrols would stay outside the strait, and the unit would remain under South Korean command. South Korea’s defence ministry said 36 piracy incidents had been reported off Somalia so far this year, up from 11 in all of 2025. It said pirates had ventured further towards Oman as international naval forces shifted to the Red Sea and Hormuz. The navy would send a P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft, a bomb disposal team and uncrewed craft to clear sea mines. The plan would raise the personnel limit from 320 to 395. The navy’s current mandate expires on 31 December. Deputy ministers backed the plan on Thursday and the cabinet is due to review it next week. If the cabinet and President Lee Jae-myung approve it, the National Assembly will vote on whether to expand the patrol area and extend the mission until 31 December 2027. Why Hormuz matters to South Korea South Korea sourced about 70% of its oil from the Middle East in 2025. Most of that oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to industry ministry figures. US President Donald Trump has criticised Seoul for what he sees as insufficient support for the Iran war. Lee said in September that South Korea had a duty to protect its citizens, merchant ships and oil shipments, but ruled out a deployment that could draw the country into the war. Seoul has backed a British and French-led plan to protect merchant ships and clear mines in the strait once conditions allow. Its defence ministry said sending mine-clearing equipment to waters off Oman would give South Korean crews experience they could use in a future mission. A South Korean defence official told Yonhap that Seoul had agreed to take part if asked, once the war ended or Washington and Tehran reached a deal allowing crews to operate safely. Any deployment inside the strait would still need parliament’s approval.