Somali Pirates Seizes
South Korean Oil Tanker.
South
Korea has sent a destroyer to intercept a supertanker carrying
as much as one hundred and seventy million dollars worth of
crude oil that was seized by Somali pirates.
The Vessel
The South Korean-operated, Singapore-owned Samho Dream, which
can carry more than two million barrels of crude oil, was
hijacked on its way from Iraq to the United States.
The tanker's crew of five South Koreans and nineteen Filipinos
were taken hostage when it was seized about one thousand five
hundred and sixty kilometers east of the Somali coast.
A Nairobi-based maritime group said the tanker, which had been
seized by Somali pirates, was now heading for Haradheere, the
port and pirates' base at which many ships are held during
ransom negotiations.
The Search
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the government has
dispatched Cheong-hae naval unit to the waters of the Indian
Ocean, where the ship hijacked by Somali pirates was assumed to
be.
South Korea's anti-piracy Cheong-hae unit has a destroyer in the
area to protect its commercial vessels.
The destroyer, which can travel faster than the supertanker,
would be able to reach the ship before it could reach any port.
REUTERS/Williams
