First storm of hijacked ship shows shift to hardline response


The government in Seoul has taken military action against the Somali pirates, which have targeted an increasing number of South Korean ships for ransom.

Not only South Korean vessels are seized by pirates in the Arabian Sea. Many foreign freighter ships have been captured there for ransom.

Somali pirates seized a Korean-flagged freighter and its 24-man crew last April and did not release them for 217 days. It was the longest period Korean hostages have been held before being freed. Two Koreans aboard a ship captured in the waters off the West African country have not yet been released.

Under previous administrations, Korea avoided military action against Somali pirates.

The seizure of the Samho Jewelry cargo ship became a litmus test for the government’s stance on pirates. At home, local news media called on the government to take a drastic step to discourage Somali pirates from attempting to capture at least Korean-flagged ships.

It is the first time for Korean military forces raid a hijacked cargo ship to arrest pirates and rescue Korean crew.

The firefight involving naval special forces on the 11,500-ton Samho Jewelry left eight pirates dead. All eight Korean crew members were rescued.

Its successful rescue of Samho Jewelry and its crew sends a strong message to terrorists as well as pirates.

The action is a clear signal of the tough stance to possible seizure of Korean vessels by pirates or kidnapping of Koreans by militants for ransom.

“This operation demonstrated our government’s determination that we won’t tolerate illegal activities by pirates any more,” President Lee Myung-bak said in a nationally televised address hailing the success of the rescue operation.

Though Lee mentioned only piracy in the speech, his address could certainly be construed as signaling that the government will not tolerate other kinds of illegal activities such as kidnapping for ransom. Of course, kidnapping on foreign soil is different from a hijacking a ship on waters, but few terrorists could fail to sense a toughened stance.

Problems with pirates, however, do not end with rescue operations. They require follow-up measures to prevent Somali pirates from attempting to seize ships, and to root out ship hijackings by pirates.

The international community still lacks an established system to punish pirates, whether they arecaptured via military operations or not. There was a proposal to set up a special tribunal in Kenya, but it has shown little progress. Some critics point out that unless Somalia stabilizes socially and politically and its economy improves, it would be impossible to eradicate piracy.

“There have been much discussion in the international community about Somali piracy. To block the flow of ransom money is one of the ideas being thoroughly reviewed,” a foreign ministry official said.

Internally, the government is considering diverse steps, such as installation of so-called “citadels” on ships, sealed spaces in which crew take shelter in case of pirate attacks, or taking private security personnel along when ships navigate through pirates-infested areas.

In conjunction with such measures, Seoul is strengthening international cooperation with the U.N. and International Maritime Organization.


By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)