JS ''Bungo'' (MST-464) is the second ship of ''Uraga''-class mine countermeasure vessel.

Construction and career

''Bungo'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding () is a Japanese heavy industries company. Despite its name, it no longer builds ships and now focuses mainly on production of high-value ship equipment such as Marine propulsion, engines and automated gantry cranes. Mitsui E&S is the largest ...

Tamano Tamano City Hall Aerial view of Tamano city center Shibukawa beach in Tamano is a city located in southern Okayama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 55,889 in 27087 households, and a population density of 540 person ...

Shipyard on 4 July 1996 and launched on 24 April 1997. She was commissioned on 23 March 1998. She was transferred to the Yokosuka District Force. Her and multiple other ships departed

Kobe Port The Port of Kobe is a Japanese maritime port in Kobe, Hyōgo in the Keihanshin area, backgrounded by the Hanshin Industrial Region. Located at a foothill of the range of Mount Rokkō, flat lands are limited and constructions of artificial islan ...

for

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

on September 23 with the transport ship JS Ōsumi and the supply ship JS Tokiwa to transport temporary housing as an aid to the damage caused by the northwestern Turkey earthquake that occurred on August 17, 1999. At an average speed of 18 kt (about 33 km / h), she made the first long-distance continuous voyage in the history of the Maritime Self-Defense Force for 23 consecutive days without calling, and entered the port of Haydarpasa in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

on October 19. She was scheduled to arrive at Wu on November 22, but she was in a top-heavy condition due to the empty freshwater tank, and there was a camellia that the arrival was delayed by one day. On March 13, 2000, due to the reorganization of the minesweeping force, the minesweeping force group was newly formed and incorporated as a ship under direct control. From June 11 to 22, 2001, she participated in the first Western Pacific minesweeping training conducted in the waters around

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

with the minesweeper JS ''Yaeyama'' and . In the 2nd Western Pacific International Submarine Rescue Training Pacific Reach held in April 2002,

Masao Kobayashi is a Japanese politician of the Democratic Party of Japan, a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet (national legislature). A native of Nakano, Tokyo Nakano (, Latn, ja, Nakano-ku) is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the T ...

, commander of the 1st Submarine Group, and below used it as a flagship. She provides many officers' living quarters on the bridge to the participating Navy liaison officers and crew members, and also briefs every morning to inform the participating ships, demonstrating habitability and command ability. She leaves Japan on April 22 and returns on May 2. From June 5 to 17, 2006, he participated in the 3rd Western Pacific Minesweeper Training conducted in the waters around

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

with JS ''Hachijo'' and . During the

Great East Japan Earthquake Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

that occurred on March 11, 2011, he participated in rescue activities. At the time of the disaster, she was berthed at Katsuren in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

for joint training scheduled to be held in Singapore, and she departed urgently with 10 underwater divers from the Okinawa Underwater Disposal Corps and headed for Yokosuka. In the evening of March 13, a total of 130 underwater disposers and 12 rubber boats of the underwater disposal team to which the 1st, 2nd, and 44th Mine Warfare Forces, which had arrived in Yokosuka and gathered in Yokosuka, belonged. They loaded emergency food and blankets and left Yokosuka at 9 pm. After arriving at the site, they transported supplies and assisted the victims in bathing and Bungo EOD (underwater disposer) searched for the missing person and recovered the body until May 20. On September 8, the same year, she left Yokosuka to participate in a multilateral minesweeping training with the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

around

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. She participated in the training from October 15 to October 30 and returned to Yokosuka on December 1. From June 29 to August 3, 2012, she participated in the RIMPAC 2012 exercise in the waters around Hawaii with the escort ship and . This was the first Maritime Self-Defense Force dispatch of a mine warfare unit to RIMPAC. On September 1, 2013, ''Bungo'' collided with a fishing boat while sailing in the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Ba ...

. The damage was minor, with no injuries and no flooding or oil spills. From October 27 to November 13, 2014, she participated in the 3rd US-sponsored international minesweeping training held in the waters around the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

with JS ''Yaeyama''. From March 27 to March 31, 2015, she hosted with the RSS ''Resolution'' that visited

Kure is a city in the Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 208,024 in 106,616 households and a population density of 590 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . With a strong industrial and naval heritage, ...

. From August 14 to September 14 of the same year, she participated in the 6th Western Pacific Minesweeper Training (6th WPMCMEX2015) sponsored by the Singapore Navy and the

Indonesian Navy The Indonesian Navy (, TNI-AL) is the Navy, naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol Indonesia's lengthy coastline, to enforce and patrol the territorial waters and Exclus ...

with the minesweepers JS ''Aishima'' and . On July 1, 2016, due to the reorganization of the Mine Warfare Force, the ships under the direct control of the group were abolished, and they were transferred to the 3rd Mine Warfare Force, which was newly formed on the same date. On July 26, 2017, joint training was conducted with the USS ''Pioneer'' in

Mutsu Bay is a bay located within Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. It has an east-west distance of approximately and a north-south distance of approximately at its eastern end, with a total area of approximately . Na ...

. The purpose is to confirm communication procedures for the protection of US ships based on the peace and security legislation. For about three months from September 15, 2019, she will be dispatched to the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

along with the minesweeper to conduct maritime training with the navies of each country in the Indian Ocean region. During her dispatch, she will visit

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

to conduct minesweeping training, diving training, etc. In February 2025, during International Maritime Exercise 2025, members of the

's Mine and Threat Exploitation Group (MTXG) were stationed aboard Bungo in the seas around the Middle East. Members of MTXG X-Ray Unit 1 and 3 were operating REMUS 300 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles to demonstrate interoperational capability.

42 Commando 42 Commando is a unit within the UK Commando Force. Based at Norton Manor, Royal Marines Condor and 42 Commando are based at Bickleigh Barracks, Plymouth. Personnel regularly deploy outside the United Kingdom on operations or training. All Roya ...

Royal Marines The Royal Marines provide the United Kingdom's amphibious warfare, amphibious special operations capable commando force, one of the :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, five fighting arms of the Royal Navy, a Company (military unit), company str ...

were also aboard for boarding operation training. On 1 April 2025, ''Bungo'' along with JS ''Etajima'' arrived at the

Port of Colombo The Port of Colombo , (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as a ...

, Sri Lanka for a goodwill visit scheduled to last until 4 April.

Gallery

File:USS Guardian (MCM-5), USS Patriot (MCM-7), USS Inchon (MCS-12), JS Bungo (MST-464), and JS Yaeyama (MSO-301) steam in formation, -7 Jun. 2001 a.jpg, JS ''Bungo'', JS Yaeyama,

USS Patriot USS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Ubiquitous Synergy Seeker, a Canadian band * Universal Studios Singapore, a theme park in Singapore Businesses and organizations * Union of Sovereign States, the planned successor to the Soviet U ...

, USS Inchon and USS Guardian on 7 June 2001. File:JS Bungo (MST-464) and JS Yaeyama (MSO-301), -7 Jun. 2001 a.jpg, JS ''Bungo'' and JS Yaeyama on 7 June 2001. File:JS Bungo (MST-464)201200214.JPG, JS ''Bungo'' on 14 February 2012. File:JS Bungo (MST-464) OPS-20 in Kure Naval Base 140915.JPG, JS ''Bungos radar OPS-20 on 15 September 2014. File:早朝のアレイからすこじま - panoramio.jpg, JS ''Bungo'' on 28 December 2014. File:JS Bungo and AH101 201122-N-UQ704-357.JPG, JS ''Bungo'' on 22 November 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bungo (MST-464) 1997 ships Mine warfare vessels of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Ships built by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding