Korean Navy Rescues Ship Off Somalia Again

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, according to Yonhap News Agency.

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.