S. Korean warship begins convoy mission off Somali coast: official

By Sam Kim

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean warship deployed to Somali waters began convoying the country's vessels, an official here said Thursday, as tension mounts in the region after pirates vowed revenge for the thwarting of a recent hijacking by the U.S. navy.

The Munmu the Great carrying a crew of 300, started escorting a 12,000-ton South
Korean chemical transporter, Pine Galaxy, at 8:00 a.m. (Korean time) off the
coast of Oman, said Col. Lee Hyoung-kook, who oversees the Cheonghae naval unit
from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
It is expected to take 13 hours for the destroyer to escort the commercial vessel
westward along the 790-kilometer-long Internationally Recommended Transit
Corridor to the coast off Djibouti, Lee said in a briefing.
He also said the recent surge in pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden poses a
threat but voiced confidence the South Korean unit is ready to deal with any
contingency.
"We have trained with various situations in mind. We're optimally ready," he said.
Somalia has not had a functional government or maritime authorities since its
dictator was dethroned by warlords in 1991. Poverty has driven a large number of
farmers and fishermen to piracy, and black market sales of weapons run rampant.
According to the U.S. navy, about two dozen hijackings have occurred this year,
well ahead of the pace in 2008. Somali pirates recently captured the captain of a
U.S. vessel but were killed by U.S. Navy SEALS after a tense standoff.
The pirates have since vowed to step up their attacks. On Tuesday, a U.S. aid
ship was fired upon, but has arrived safely in Kenya since.
About 500 South Korean vessels ply the route each year, according to the Joint
Chiefs of Staff. Over 150 of them are vulnerable to attacks because of their
relatively low speed, Lee said.