The South Korean Navy destroyer Dae Jo Yeong is part of the international anti-piracy patrols off the coast of Somalia.

23 Sep 2009

South Korea's military says one of its ships has repelled pirates pursuing freighters off the coast of Yemen and rescued three foreign vessels from being hijacked.

On September 20, ROKS Dae Jo Yeong - a destroyer with the South Korean naval unit Cheonghae - rescued three ships sailing under the flags of Cyprus, the Marshal Islands, and the Bahamas from Somali pirates, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The previous day, a South Korean Navy ship had rescued five Yemeni fishermen hijacked with their boat on September 17. Somali pirates had intended to use the Yemeni boat, the Monfiq, for attacking ships passing in the region.

The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is the quickest route for more than 20,000 vessels going from Asia to Europe and the Americas every year.

Attacks by heavily-armed Somali raiders in speedboats have prompted some of the world's biggest shipping firms to switch routes from the Suez Canal and send cargo vessels around the Cape of Good Hope in southern Africa, causing a hike in shipping costs.

The pirate-infested Somali waters remain dangerous despite the presence of foreign navies in the area.

presstv