ID :
177121
Thu, 04/21/2011 - 17:53
Auther :

All crew of S. Korean ship confirmed safe despite hijacking attempt


(ATTN: UPDATES with quotes, details in first 6 paras; AMENDS headline)
SEOUL, April 21 (Yonhap) -- Suspected Somali pirates boarded a South Korean-owned container vessel in the Indian Ocean, but apparently abandoned their attempt to seize the ship after all crew took refuge in a safe room, officials here said Thursday.
South Korean naval commandos climbed aboard the 75,000-ton Hanjin Tianjin after confirming there were no pirates on the vessel and found all 20 crew members -- 14 South Koreans and six Indonesians -- safe in one of the ship's citadels, said Army Brig. Gen. Kim Woon-yong of the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"Because the crew swiftly locked themselves in the citadel and made a distress call, we presumed that the hijacking attempt was foiled," Kim told reporters, adding that there are 72 citadels on the vessel.
The crew took refuge in the citadel immediately after they heard sounds of gunshots from suspected Somali pirates, Lee said.
Three AK-47 rifle bullets and a number of bare footprints were found on the vessel, suggesting that pirates had temporarily seized the ship, officials said. It appears the pirates have fled after failing to take full control of the ship, they said.
"All crew are in relatively good health and our destroyer will escort the Hanjin Tianjin to a safe zone," Kim said. The crew regained control of their vessel around 7:30 p.m. (Korean time), according to Kim.


The Panamanian-registered ship, owned by South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co., lost contact after reporting an attack from pirates around 5:15 a.m. Thursday (Korean time), according to company officials.
The cargo ship was traveling from Spain to Singapore when it lost contact in waters some 400 kilometers east of the Yemeni island of Socotra near the Gulf of Aden.
The South Korean Navy destroyer, the Choi Young, sped toward the cargo ship and arrived at the scene around 5 p.m. (Korean time). The naval unit has been in the region on anti-piracy missions and is credited for rescuing a hijacked freighter in a daring raid in January.
Before the operation, a Lynx helicopter from the warship made a reconnaissance flight over the vessel and reported that white smoke was seen billowing from the container vessel, but did not detect any signs of sailors or pirates, officials said.



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