Korea pushes ahead with risky operation

President Lee Myung-bak announces at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday, a successful military operation that retook the hijacked Samho Jewelry cargo vessel and rescued the 21 crewmembers onboard. / Yonhap

By Lee Tae-hoon

Many were highly skeptical about the chances of success for a Navy commando operation to rescue 21 hostages on the South Korean freighter Samho Jewelry, which was hijacked last Saturday by Somali pirates.

However, a day after the hijacking, President Lee Myung-bak told security officials to take all possible measures to rescue the sailors on the 11,500-ton cargo ship, without paying a ransom or negotiating with the hostage takers.

Some insiders say President Lee, nicknamed the “bulldozer” for his ability to push through policies, was determined to end the vicious cycle of paying off Somali pirates, who have recently begun operating further into the Indian Ocean.

They say Lee expressed his frustration when he found that the same shipping company that paid a record ransom of more than $9 million to the pirates was facing another hijacking.

The Samho Jewelry, retaken in a surprise raid Friday, belongs to Samho Shipping, the same company that saw the hijacking of a 300,000-ton tanker and crew of 24 last year by Somali pirates.

In 2010, pirates reportedly took a record 1,181 hostages during a year in which hijackings and attacks became more violent.

Experts say Lee had to seriously consider choosing the military option in order to demonstrate to Somali pirates that South Koreans ships were not easy targets offering generous ransoms.

The chances of rescuing the hostages without casualties, however, appeared to be slim as the heavily armed Somalis were threatening the lives of the abducted sailors.

In fact, the Cheonghae Navy anti-pirate unit failed in its first rescue attempt, Tuesday, during which it had to retreat after three commandoes were injured in a gun battle.

Nearly all the hijacked ships are freed after shipping companies pay a hefty ransom as a military operation poses the risk of harming hostages.

Only a handful of such operations have been undertaken, most of which took place when the pirates had yet to take complete control of the ships.

Military rescue attempts are usually made only when the crew lock themselves in a reinforced room, called a “citadel” with two way communications, food and water, or when hostages are facing imminent danger.

South Korean military officials did not specify the exact location of where the crewmembers were during the rescure operation.

Some countries, such as the United States, Russia, France and India, have successfully undertaken military operations,

In 2009, U.S. Navy Seals rescued the crew of the Maersk Alabama from a gang of pirates, killing three of those who were keeping the ship’s captain hostage.

The Geummi 305, a trawler seized last October with two South Korean sailors aboard, is still being held captive by Somali pirates.

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