The anti-piracy warship
SOUTH KOREA has reportedly deployed a warship to the territorial waters of Ghana to search for three of its nationals who have been taken hostage by suspected pirates on the high seas.
Chilling details began churning out last week about the first successful pirate attack in Ghanaian waters which culminated in the taking hostage of five persons – the three Koreans, one Ghanaian and a Greek.
It turned out that a total of eleven pirates attacked three vessels off the coast of Ghana, between Ada in the Greater Accra Region and Keta in the Volta Region – about 40 nautical miles from the Tema Harbour – on March 26, 2018.
The reportedly fully armed pirates allegedly launched a series of attacks on two fishing vessels operating along the coast and an oil tanker. They were said to have ransacked the vessels and made away with some money, personal belongings and other valuables.
The South Korean government reacted and its foreign ministry said the warship carrying about 30 SEAL members would arrive at the West African coast by April 16, 2018 in search of the Korean hostages.
‘Munmu the Great,’ the South Korean warship, carries Lynx multi-role choppers armed with 12.7-mm machine guns, according to the ministry.
“We are closely coordinating with local countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Benin as well as the US and the EU to locate our nationals and secure their release,” the foreign ministry stated.
On Monday, a fishing vessel dubbed, ‘Marine 711,’ with 43 Ghanaians and three South Korean sailors, was attacked and occupied by some 11 suspected pirates.
It took the intervention of an Air Force Plane to persuade the pirates to abandon the vessel, which was almost in Nigerian waters. The pirates were reported to have used the captives as shields to escape from the military.
In the process, the pirates reportedly kidnapped the three South Koreans, comprising a Captain, Chief Engineer and Chief Officer and escaped with them on a speedboat, with their current whereabouts yet unknown.
The Ghanaian registered fishing vessel owned by World Marine Company Ltd, was later escorted to the Tema Fishing Harbour without the Korean sailors on board.
Investigations showed that the distress calls by the sailors fell on deaf ears and that it was the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) that intercepted one of the calls and alerted navy personnel in the course of the attack.
The pirates reportedly subjected the victims to severe beatings when they refused to comply with their demands.
Chief Engineer of ‘Marine 711’ was allegedly apprehended in a fuel reservoir where he was said to be hiding. Captain of the vessel was also arrested on the ‘monkey highland’ of the vessel.
Later, Commodore James O. Kontoh, in-charge of Ghana’s Eastern Naval Command, said their initial assessment showed that the attacks “are very much connected,” adding, “It all started Monday around 3:30 am when a speedboat came to the Tema anchorage area and then forcefully took over a vessel.”
From Vincent Kubi , Tema, with additional files from the Agencies