South Korean Commandos Kill Somali Pirates in Rescue Raid

South Korea says its troops' killing of Somali hijackers in a Gulf of Aden rescue raid sends a tough message to pirates.

South Korean naval exercises (IMAGE - South Korea Navy)

South Korean navy special forces stormed a hijacked cargo ship in the Arabian Sea on 21 January 2011, rescuing all 21 crew members and killing eight Somali pirates. Five pirates were captured.

The South Korean news agency Yonhap said President Lee Myung-bak had praised the operation in a nationally televised address. It quoted Lee as saying: "Our military carried out the operation perfectly under difficult circumstances. I appreciate it and send a message of encouragement."

The raid took place about 800 miles (1,300 km) off the coast of Somalia, officials in the South Korean capital Seoul said. It was the first such rescue by South Korea since it sent warships to join multinational anti-piracy patrols in the pirate-infested area in 2009.

"Strong Message to Pirates"

The rescued vessel, the 11,500-tonne Samho Jewelry, was carrying chemicals from the United Arab Emirates towards Sri Lanka when it was hijacked in the waters between Oman and India on 15 January 2011, the BBC News website recalled.

Yonhap said the South Korean destroyer Choi Young, with 300 special troops aboard, had first closed in on the Samho Jewelry on 18 January 2011, after its hijackers left the vessel to attack a Mongolian ship nearby.

The agency quoted Lt-Gen Lee Seong-ho, head of combat operations for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, as saying: "During the operation, our forces killed some Somali pirates and all of the hostages were confirmed alive… This operation demonstrated our government's strong will that we won't tolerate illegal activities by pirates any more."

The timing of the operation was also based on intelligence that a "mother ship" was leaving a Somali port, which the South Korean forces suspected was probably transporting more pirates to the hijacked ship, Yonhap added.

General Lee told reporters that South Korea had received help from other countries, including the US, Bloomberg news agency noted.

The South Korean newspaper The Korea Herald commented on 21 January 2011 that the “successful rescue of Samho Jewelry and its crew sends a strong message to terrorists as well as pirates.” Local news media had called on the government to take “a drastic step” to discourage Somali pirates from targeting Korean-flagged ships, the paper recalled.

Four Ships Hijacked in Aden Gulf in 2011

The Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia, and the northwestern Arabian Sea are notorious danger zones for attacks by Somali pirates.

The International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said that so far in 2011, there had been 22 incidents involving Somali pirates. As of 18 January 2011, they included four hijackings, in which a total of 86 sailors had been taken hostage.

The IMB recorded 430 attacks worldwide in 2010, up from 406 in 2009.

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British Defence Giant Tests Non-Lethal Anti-Pirate Laser

World's Sailors Call for Global Action Against Piracy

 

British Defence Giant Tests Non-Lethal Anti-Pirate Laser

As pirate attacks worldwide continue, UK firm BAE Systems has demonstrated a non-lethal laser device that could deter attacks on commercial shipping.

Graphic - BAE Systems

 

Leading British defence manufacturer BAE Systems has demonstrated a prototype laser device that could serve as an effective non-lethal way to deter pirate attacks on commercial vessels, the company said on 10 January 2011.

Pirate attacks on shipping worldwide are increasing, according to the International Chamber of Commerce’s International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which recorded 430 attacks worldwide in 2010, up from 406 in 2009.

In the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, pirates remain active despite continuing operations by NATO, the European Union's EUNAVFOR mission, and naval ships from Russia, China, India and South Korea, among others. There are now 28 vessels and 654 hostages being held by pirates off the coast of Somalia, according to EUNAVFOR.

Disorientating But Not Lethal

As pirates increase their range of operations and their capabilities, commercial shipping agents are increasingly looking for ways of preventing attacks while avoiding armed guards on their ships.

BAE said its recently-tested laser was non-lethal and would "leave only temporary effects, to distract and deter potential attackers from a distance".

The laser had been tested at a range near Worcester over a variety of distances in different conditions, in daytime and at night.

"The laser beam is capable of providing a visual warning to pirates at distances greater than 2 km, and of disorientating attackers sufficiently at lesser distances so that weapons cannot be targeted effectively. At all times the power levels of the laser remain eye safe," BAE said.

BAE's Roy Evans explained: "The effect is similar to when a fighter pilot attacks from the direction of the sun. The glare from the laser is intense enough to make it impossible to aim weapons like AK-47s or RPGs, but doesn’t have a permanent effect [on the eyes]." But he added that there were many more requirements to meet before a non-lethal laser weapon could be fitted on commercial ships.

Pirates Said Using More "Mother Ships"

IMAGE - EUNAVFOR

Since international naval forces began intercepting more pirate groups near the coast of Somalia, the pirates have changed their modus operandi, Dutch anti-piracy expert Dr Erik Sluiman told Suite 101 on 7 January 2011. They have switched to the greater use of hijacked vessels as "mother ships", operating further from the mainland to launch attacks.

Sluiman said the vast area of operations in which Somali pirates operated - from the Gulf of Aden to the Somali Basin and deep into the Indian Ocean - limited the ability of anti-piracy forces to track the positions of all pirate "mother ships".

"Naval forces are not capable maintaining surveillance of such a large area, let alone providing protection," he added.

SEE ALSO: World's Sailors Call for Global Action Against Piracy