SEOUL, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Nations currently frustrated with Somali piracy are increasingly turning to military attempts to block their internal enablers.
South Korean investigators have determined that international middlemen were involved in the January hijacking the 11,500-ton South Korean freighter Samho Jewelry. At the time of its takeover the Samho Jewelry was transporting chemicals from the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka.
A spokesman for the South Korean coast guard said: "We've discovered that the pirates worked with the help of brokers of various nationalities. After questioning the pirates who were brought to Korea, we found out that they left Somalia and traveled some 2,000 km to reach the area where they hijacked the Samho Jewelry. They had sailed in a 40-50 ton mother ship on which they carried small boats from a country near Somalia," Chosun Ilbo reported Sunday.
On Jan. 21 South Korean navy commandos from the South Korean destroyer Choi Young, operating as part of the multinational maritime anti-piracy Task Force 151, staged a rescue attempt on the Samho Jewelry, hijacked Jan. 15 by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea, 350 nautical miles southeast of Muscat, Oman.
Eight of the 13 pirates on board were killed during the rescue mission. The ship was recaptured and five suspected pirates taken into custody were flown to South Korea to stand trial. The Samho Jewelry's captain, Seok Hae-kyun, was shot in the stomach during the assault and was listed in critical condition.
Following the ship's liberation South Korean President Lee Myung-bak issued a statement noting: "I am proud to report that our soldiers of the Cheonghae Unit have succeeded. Just a short while ago, our military rescued all of the 21-member crew of the Korean freighter Samho Jewelry, including eight Republic of Korean citizens, who were taken hostage by Somali pirates.
"At 5:12 (Saturday) afternoon, I ordered the Minister of Defense to conduct the rescue operation. Even under difficult conditions, our troops were able to carry out this operation. Along with the Korean people, I would like to send them our appreciation and support."
Despite the presence of an international maritime task force off the Somali coast, piracy continues to increase. In 2010 Somali pirates seized 49 vessels. According to the European Union's NAVFOR, Somali pirates are now detaining at least 47 foreign vessels plus two barges along with at least 786 hostages for ransom.
International attention is increasingly turning to attempting to uncover and block the pirates' international allies, from other East African ports that covertly allow the pirates to use their facilities as staging bases to the shadowy financial middlemen that process the pirates' ransom proceeds after they are paid through intermediaries.
