JS Kunisaki

JS Kunisaki
History
Japan
Name	Kunisaki (くにさき)
Namesake	Kunisaki Peninsula
Ordered	1999
Builder	Hitachi, Maizuru
Laid down	7 September 2000
Launched	13 December 2001
Commissioned	26 February 2003
Homeport	Kure
Identification	MMSI number: 431999664 Pennant number: LST-4003
Status	Active
General characteristics
Class and type	Ōsumi-class tank landing ship
Displacement	8,900 t (8,800 long tons) standard 13,000 t (13,000 long tons) full load
Length	178 m (584 ft 0 in)
Beam	25.8 m (84 ft 8 in)
Draught	17.0 m (55 ft 9 in)
Propulsion	2 × Mitsui 16V42M-A Diesel, 26,000 bhp (19,000 kW)) 2 shafts 1 × bow thruster
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC)
Capacity	up to 10 main battle tanks
Troops	330 personnel
Complement	137
Sensors and processing systems	OPS-14C air search radar OPS-28D surface-search radar OPS-20 navigation radar TACAN
Electronic warfare & decoys	4 × Mark 36 SRBOC
Armament	2 × 20 mm Phalanx CIWS 2 × M2 Browning machine gun
Aircraft carried	Up to 8 helicopters tied topside
Aviation facilities	Hangar and helipad

JS Kunisaki (LST-4003) is the third ship of the Ōsumi-class landing ship tank of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF).

Construction and career

Kunisaki was laid down on 7 September 2000 and launched on 13 December 2001 by Hitachi Zosen Corporation, Maizuru. She was commissioned into the 1st Landing Group on 26 February 2003.

In June 2010, seamen from the Kunisaki helped to paint Ohtres Chas Primary School in Sihanoukville, Cambodia during a Pacific Partnership 2010 community service event.

This ship was one of several in the JMSDF fleet that participated in disaster relief after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.

Kunisaki was the first-ever JMSDF ship to serve as the primary mission platform for the 2014 Pacific Partnership annual humanitarian and disaster response-focused mission.

2014 May 29, she departed Yokosuka to participate in the Pacific Partnership 2014. She provided Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines medical activities in, carried out cultural exchanges, etc. July 24 and return to port to Kure.

Participated in the integrated training Dawn Blitz 15 to be held in the United States from August 18 to September 9, 2015 with JS Hyūga and JS Ashigara under the command of the Mine Warfare Force, and amphibious warfare training.

Participate in the ADMM Plus Humanitarian Aid / Disaster Relief and Defense Medical College Exercise (AM-HEx2016) in Thailand from September 3 to 9 of the same year.

Joint training will be conducted with the French Navy Mistral, which called at Sasebo from May 5, 2017, in the waters around Japan.

On January 11 and 12, 2019, joint cruise training was conducted with several ships including the USS Wasp and USS Green Bay in the waters West of Kyushu.

Under the command of the Mine Warfare Force commander during the actual training with the U.S. military (Talisman Saber 19) to be conducted from June 3 to August 21, 2019 at the Shoalwater Bay Exercise Area in Queensland, Australia and the surrounding waters. Japan and the United States jointly by wearing landing and ground combat, to implement the joint cruise training, etc. The ship and JS Ise participated in the exercise.

On June 18, while participating in the training, she was towed by a tugboat and tried to turn around to leave Brisbane, Australia, where she was calling, but she collided with the quay of the port. The door at the rear of the hull broke, and the quay also broke.

Gallery

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  JS Kunisaki and USNS Mercy on 14 June 2010

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  JS Kunisaki at Kure in May 2011

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  JS Kunisaki at Da Nang in June 2014

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  JS Kunisaki and USS Green Bay underway on 10 June 2019

External links

Media related to JS Kunisaki (LST-4003) at Wikimedia Commons