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SKor Navy Wards Off Somali Pirates for Fourth Time
A Korean naval unit has rescued another foreign vessel from Somali pirates off the eastern coast of Africa. According to a spokesperson for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul, a naval destroyer called Munmu the Great scared off a pirate boat that was chasing an Egyptian ship on Wednesday. When Korea's Cheonghae unit received a distress call from the 74-ton vessel, which was on its way to the Red Sea from India, it immediately dispatched a helicopter with a team of snipers aboard. The helicopter threatened to open fire on the pirate's boat and shot flares to inform ships from other navies patrolling the area. It was soon joined by a United States naval helicopter and the Egyptian commercial ship was saved. This is the first time that a Korean naval unit has carried out a joint operation with the U.S. Navy since joining multinational anti-piracy operations in the region last month. And this was the fourth rescue by the Cheonghae unit, after it saved ships registered in Denmark, North Korea, and Panama. Posted by: Steve White 2009-05-16 |
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