Nairobi: A South Korean VLCC captured by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean at the weekend arrived Wednesday off the coast of Somalia, the European Union naval force patrolling the area said.
The tanker Samho Dream (pictured), previously reported hijacked approximately 600 nautical miles off the Somali coast in the early hours of April 4 has now arrived off the coast of Somalia, a EUNAVFOR statement said.
"The Samho Dream, South Korean owned and operated... has a crew of 24 made up of five Koreans and 19 Filipinos and all are believed to be safe. EUNAVFOR continues to monitor the situation," it said.
The 300,000-ton vessel, owned by Samho Shipping Corporation, was seized Sunday as it transported an undisclosed quantity of crude oil from Iraq to the US state of Louisiana.
On Tuesday a foreign ministry official in Seoul said a South Korean warship had caught up with the Samho Dream but was keeping its distance from the vessel for the sake of the crew's safety.
Later Tuesday, a pirate chief told AFP that the tanker had been heading for the port of Hobyo, a pirate stronghold 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of Mogadishu.
Seperately, after a prolonged attack in the Indian Ocean at a position around 250nm east of Kenya the Turkey-flagged 36,300-dwt bulk carrier MV Yasin C was overpowered by presumed Somali pirates yesterday afternoon. [08/04/10]
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