Korean destroyer rescues foreign vessels from pirates off Yemen

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea said Sunday that a naval unit rescued
three foreign vessels from being hijacked by pirates operating off the coast of
Yemen as part of a U.S.-led anti-piracy campaign.
The Daejoyoung, a destroyer with the South Korean naval unit Cheonghae, rescued
three ships registered under Cyprus, the Marshal Islands and the Bahamas from
pirates near waters off Yemen at 3:13 p.m. on Saturday, military officials here
said.
The last major operation by the Cheonghae unit took place on Aug. 4 when the
South Korean destroyer captured suspected pirates chasing a Bahamian transport
and released them with an admonition.
The Cheonghae unit is mandated to protect South Korean vessels off the Somali
coast, but lends support to ships of other nationalities in nearby waters under a
humanitarian banner. The mandate was recently extended by South Korea's National
Assembly.
Approximately 500 South Korean ships ply the Gulf of Aden each year. About 150 of
them are vulnerable to pirate attacks because of their low speed, according to
the defense ministry.
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, and
black market sales of weapons run rampant.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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