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By Lee Tae-hoon
The government is considering bringing five Somali pirates captured alive during the Navy’s rescue operation of 21 crewmembers of the hijacked chemical freighter Samho Jewelry, as early as this month, a senior government official said Sunday.
“The government wants to hand over captured pirates to a third country in the region, such as Oman, Kenya or Yemen, “ the official said, asking for anonymity.
“However, it appears to be inevitable to bring them to Korea for a trial as these countries have expressed strong opposition to Seoul’s proposal due to costs of keeping them.“
According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Korea is allowed to seize a pirate ship and arrest the pirates and seize property on board.
Once the pirates arrive in Korea, the government plans to file suits against them on charges of kidnapping and assaults.
Military officials said the South Korean destroyer Choi Young made several false attempts to retake the hijacked cargo ship and this played a crucial role in successfully rescuing all of the 21 sailors on board.
Only one sailor, the captain of the 11,500-ton chemical carrier, was wounded, while the Navy assault team suffered no casualties during Friday’s rescue operation.
The Navy released a 4-minute edited video clip, which revealed how Navy commandos rescued the hostages. The footage was taken from the Lynx helicopter that was participating in the operation.
The officials say all of the South Korean crewmembers, except the captain, are expected to arrive in Oman early this week and return home around Saturday.
Eight of the Somali pirates were killed and the remaining five captured in the unprecedented raid.
“The Choi Young KDX-II destroyer, as well as its Lynx helicopter and RIB boats approached the hijacked ship over and over again for three days before launching Friday’s rescue mission,” Navy Capt. Cho Young-joo, commander of the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit, said.
He said the deception tactics made the pirates suffer from extreme fatigue and they were unable to respond promptly when the unit stormed the hijacked freighter at 4:58 a.m, about two hours before sunrise.
“The pirates could not immediately respond to the operation when UDT commandos, who had approached Samho Jewelry by RIB boats, infiltrated the cargo ship, during which the Lynx helicopter and the destroyer provided covering fire,” Capt. Cho said in a telephone interview.
The commander of the Cheonghae unit, deployed as part of a joint international anti-piracy campaign since 2009, underlined that he placed top priority on the safety of the abducted sailors.
“The pirates, who were caught off guard, did not threaten to kill the hostages,” Capt. Cho said, adding that the majority of the hostages were on the bridge of Samho Jewelry at the time of the surprise assault.
“Had the pirates been aware of the military operation, they could have killed some of the sailors,” he said.
Some hostages were being held captive in the engine room and a shower room.
Military rescue attempts are usually made when pirates have yet to take complete control of a hijacked ship, or when the crew is hiding in a reinforced room, known as a citadel.
Escorted by the 4,500-ton Choi Young, the rescued Samho Jewelry is headed to a port in Oman, according to Samho Shipping officials.
The chemical freighter is traveling at a speed of about seven knots and is expected to reach port early this week.
Captain recovering after surgery
Seok Hae-kyun, the captain of the freighter, who was shot in the abdomen during the rescue operation, underwent five hours of surgery in a hospital in Oman.
Doctors say Seok regained consciousness in the recovery room and his condition is not life-threatening.
The rest of the crew will receive immediate medical check-ups upon their arrival in Oman before heading home.
