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S. Korean firm pays ransom to pirates

SEOUL: A South Korean shipping company paid a ransom to Somali pirates for the release of a cargo ship and 22 crew members after more than a month of captivity, a company official said on Friday.

The crew — eight South Koreans and 14 citizens of Myanmar — were released on Thursday along with the ship Bright Ruby following its hijacking off the coast of Somalia on Sept. 10.

The sailors “were released after the ransom was paid to the Somali pirates,” the official with J&J Trust, which owns the ship, told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

He said the ransom was delivered in cash through an agency serving as a middleman. He refused to disclose the name of the agency or the amount of ransom.

A South Korean Foreign Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with ministry policy, confirmed the payment.

The ship and its crew — who were all safe — were heading toward a Sri Lankan port and planned to return to South Korea and Myanmar later this month, said the Ministry and shipping company. The incident prompted South Korea’s government to consider dispatching naval vessels to waters off Somalia to counter possible hijackings of South Korean ships.

So far, 29 ships have been seized by pirates this year off the Horn of Africa, including an arms-laden Ukrainian ship for which pirates have demanded a $8 million ransom.

The hijacking of the Ukrainian freighter carrying tanks and other heavy weapons has heightened concern over the chaos in a key shipping route and prompted NATO to send warships to help U.S. Navy vessels already patrolling the region. Some naval commanders are suggesting shipping companies should hire private security firms.

Last month, U.S. Vice Adm. Bill Gortney said the U.S.-led coalition patrolling the Gulf of Aden doesn’t “have the resources to provide 24-hour protection for the vast number of merchant vessels in the region,” and British Commodore Keith Winstanley suggested measures should “include shippers considering hiring private armed security escorts.”

Somalia, which has had no functioning government since 1991, is the world’s top piracy hot spot. It is located along the Gulf of Aden, which connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean and is one of the world’s busiest waterways with some 20,000 ships passing through it each year.— AP

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