By Kang Hyun-kyung
In the wake of the release of the Korean supertanker with five South Koreans and 19 sailors from the Philippines on board late Saturday night, concerns over maritime safety in the Indian Ocean show no signs of abating.
The pirates that hijacked the Samho Dream reportedly received a record high ransom of $9.5 million in return for freeing the sailors who were held for 217 days after being hijacked in the Indian Ocean in early April.
Worries over maritime safety are growing here, mainly for two reasons.
Experts say an increasing number of Somali youths are expected to join the “profitable” piracy business, after the ransom was reported.
Plus, Somali pirates are “venturing” into the oceans, which were traditionally considered to be safe, and their “new areas of activity” has put cargo ships passing through the region in danger of being hijacked.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the release of 24 sailors who were on board the supertanker, Sunday.
“All sailors were freed around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night. (The vessel) was out of Somali waters and is now heading for a third country,” the statement said.
“The sailors will return home after getting medical checkups.”
The vessel was hijacked on April 4.
It was carrying $170 million worth of crude oil from Iraq to the United States.
Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of the East African Seafarers Assistance Programme, said in an interview with Reuters that the pirates initially demanded $20 million.
Although the actual payout was lower than the initial amount demanded, the ransom was still the highest since pirates started hijacking vessels in the Indian Ocean.
Industry experts said the pirates’ expansion of hijacking activities into waters far from the Somali coastline puts cargo vessels in greater danger.
On Oct. 9, the 241-ton South Korean trawler Keummi 305 was hijacked in waters off Lamu, Kenya. Two South Koreans, two Chinese and 39 Kenyans were aboard the ship.
The foreign ministry said the area where the trawler was hijacked was considered a safe maritime region.
Analysts said that the root cause of piracy off the coast of Somalia is the disorder in the African nation that has lasted for 20 years.
As piracy has hampered international trade, governments created the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia in New York on Jan. 14, 2009, to fight hijackings.
Now, 47 countries and international organizations have joined the global effort against pirate attacks in Somali waters.
The member governments and partners met in late January in New York.
Thomas Countryman, principal deputy assistant secretary of political and military affairs, told reporters in the U.S. State Department in February that joint action was the key to cope with piracy there.
“I’d stress that the (thing) that binds us together within the Contact Group is a conviction that joint action, sharing of best experience, coordination of military, business, and legal measures that we can take together offers the best means of dealing with those consequences,” he said.
Countryman said “an effective solution to the piracy question will require efforts to re-stabilize Somalia.”
On any given day, an average 17 ships patrol the Gulf of Aden to provide security for the 30,000 cargo ships passing through the area.