S. Korea rescues Egyptian ship from Somali hijackers

SEOUL, May 14 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean naval unit patrolling in pirate-plagued
Somali waters has rescued an Egyptian-registered vessel from being hijacked, the
Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said Thursday.
The Cheonghae unit, aboard a 2,100-ton destroyer, has been operating in the Gulf
of Aden since early last month as part of a U.S.-led multinational anti-piracy
campaign.
The rescue which took place Wednesday night (Korean time) marked the fourth time
the 300-member unit has driven away suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia,
having also aided North Korean, Danish and Panamanian commercial ships.
Somalia has not had a functional government since its dictator was overthrown by
warlords in 1991. Poverty has driven a large number of locals to piracy, while
black market sales of weapons run rampant.
Approximately 500 South Korean ships ply the route each year, according to the
South Korean defense ministry, which estimates 150 are vulnerable to pirate
attacks because of their low speed.
The Mummu the Great destroyer was deployed mainly to protect South Korean vessels
in the route where over 110 pirate-related incidents took place last year, a
five-fold jump from two years earlier.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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