South Korean Special Forces kill eight Somali pirates, capture five in the Indian Ocean as MV crew rescued
Following the storming of the vessel and rescue of the crew from Somali pirates by South Korean commandoes,
Lt. Gen. Lee Seong-ho, head of combat operations for South Korea's Joint
Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said "
Our special forces stormed the
hijacked MT SAMHO JEWELRY earlier today and freed all hostages." He went on to say the operation went "perfectly". The press release, featured on Associated Press Online Network, is available
here.
The 1,500-ton Malta-flagged, South Korean freighter,
SAMHO JEWELRY was hijacked by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea on Saturday, 15 January 2011, enroute to Sri Lanka from the United Arab Emirates with 21 crewmembers onboard, 8 of whom are South Korean. It is the sister ship to
SAMHO DREAM, an oil tanker hijacked by Somali pirates and released in November 2010, after the VLCC vessel and 24 crew - 5 of whom were South Korean and 19 Filipinos - was held for seven months. The ransom paid was a reported record outlay of $9 million.
The South Korean chemical tanker, which was seized by Somali
pirates armed with machine guns and RPGs in the Indian Ocean, was safely rescued by South Korean troops, the Korean Joint
Chiefs of Staff said Friday, 21 January.
SafetyThe South Korean 58-year-old Master of the
tanker suffered an abdominal gunshot wound in the stomach by a pirate, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said, but the JCS stated he was not in a critical
condition and has been flown to Oman for medical treatment. The Master had assisted the rescue operation by steering the vessel in a zig-zag pattern to stall for time as the pirates demanded the ship head for Somalia.
As with all militaries, there is always
reluctance to initiate such raids due to the risk of harm to the hostages. In 2009, a French rescue operation on the yacht
TANIT captured by pirates two days earlier, saw one hostage, the skipper of the yacht, killed by a French commando during the rescue.
The South Korean Underwater Demolition Team special
warfare troops did not suffer any casualties
during the operation, codenamed “
Operation Dawn in the Gulf of Aden.” Beginning at 0958am, Korean time on Friday (0258
UTC), the 5-hour operation took place over 1,300km from Somalia.
StanceThe South
Korean President, Lee Myung-bak, ordered security
officials to take all possible measures to rescue the crew of the South
Korean-operated freighter, ruling out the payment of any ransom, or negotiating with the pirates. The stance of the government of
South Korea is to not directly negotiate with the pirates or
to pay a ransom. The Foreign Ministry stated it would "
not get dragged into" the
psychological warfare used by the Somali pirates. The South
Korean destroyer,
CHOI YOUNG KDX-II was dispatched from her normal patrol in the Horn of Africa region to intercept the pirated
tanker.
MissionA report stated that, during an attempted attack on 18 January, 3 South Korean troops were wounded and required transfer to a hospital in Oman following a
shoot-out whilst defending a Mongolian-flagged vessel in the vicinity. The supporting Lynx helicopter of the South Korean navy vessel sent
to rescue the tanker, killed at least 6 Somalis who had launched the
attack against the Mongolian-flagged vessel from the South Korean tanker being used as a mothership. Reportedly, their bodies were not retrieved.
JCS
officials stated the decision to launch the operation came about as the pirates
seemed exhausted and weakened after being chased for a number of days by the
destroyer, and because intelligence indicated that
another hijacked vessel was approaching, which could bring
reinforcement to the pirates holding the tanker.
The pre-dawn rescue
operation by the South Korean Naval unit,
CHEONGHAE, conducting counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden off the Somalia
coast, started at 0458am local, 21 January, with Navy SEALs aboard 3 fast-attack boats closing in on the
SAMHO JEWELRY.
The bullet-ridden
SAMHO JEWELRY, and the escorting destroyer
CHOI YOUNG, are heading toward the port of Salalah in
Oman, officials said, and are expected to arrive early next
week.
Operation TimelineThe timline of the events and operation as follows:
15 Jan 0930 UTC (1230 Local - 1930
Seoul)
S Korean authorities confirm
SAMHO JEWELRY is hijacked
in the Arabian Sea in position 2200N 06400E, 310NM Southeast of Muscat, Oman by Somali pirates;
1730 UTC
Destroyer
CHOI YOUNG from the
Cheonghae Naval Unit is deployed;
17 Jan 2100 UTC
Destroyer
CHOI YOUNG arrives in the vicinity of the
SAMHO JEWELRY;
18 Jan 1300 UTC
First strike against pirates, prevents another possible hijacking of a Mongolian ship in the area;
19 Jan 0320 UTC
Oman naval ship arrives for backup;
0440 UTC
SAMHO JEWELRY starts moving in a northeasterly direction;
0620 UTC
SAMHO JEWLERY starts moving south toward Somalia; Afternoon: 3 wounded soldiers are moved to hospital in Oman for treatment;
21 Jan 0158 UTC (0458 Local)
Rescue operation commences
0756 UTC
Pirates overpowered with 8 killed and 5 detained; all 21 crew of the ship are rescued. The injured Master is transferred to hospital in Oman.
ConsequencesDespite the successful, if somewhat risky, rescue of the 21 crew of
SAMHO JEWLERY, which included 11 Mynamar (Burmese) and 2 Indonesians, some authorities believe this will not significantly alter the approach of the pirates. The BBC
report of the Malaysian Navy foiling a hijack attempt on a Malaysian-flagged vessel, the chemical tanker
MV BUNG LAUREL, in the Gulf of Aden which saw 3 pirates injured and 7 pirates detained, demonstrates the frustration felt by many nations over the problem of Somali piracy. Furthermore, it is unlikely the EU, NATO or CMF forces will change the methodology of their operations. The consequences of such rescues cannot be predicted, however, releasing a vessel by force, regardless of legal implications due to the flag state, in the case of
SAMHO JEWLERY, being Maltese, may place the lives of the already captured crews in serious danger. The growing risk of 'death' to the hostages in Somalia, particularly immediatley after the point a ransom has been paid, was reported in October 2010 and is available
here. Unfortunately, it is more of a case of wait and see, rather than cat and mouse.
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