Pirates of the (C)aribbean

The stunning rescue mission, the first of its kind by Korea's elite Navy Seals,sent a clear message to pirates and to the international community. It also sets a precedent in responding to similar situations in the pirate-infested waters in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.The commandos rescued all 21 crew members of the Korean-owned ship Samho Jewelry while it was on its way from the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka.

Korea paid a record $9.5 million in ransom to the pirates in exchange for safe return of crew members last year too.

The shipping industry is one of the prides of Korea Inc. Korea ranks fifth in the world in terms of the deadweight tonnage of its ships. It is behind Greece, Japan, Germany and China and is followed by Norway, Hong Kong, the United States, Denmark and Britain. Traditional maritime powers - the U.S., Britain and Norway - lag behind Korea.

The shipping sector was the country’s top contributor in external trade. It earned $47 billion from transporting cargo via sea, beating $43.1 billion in revenue from shipbuilding, $37.6 billion from petrochemical products, $35 billion from automaking and $32.8 billion from semiconductors.

I would like to request the readers to pray for Captain Seok Hae-gyun who is now in intensive care after being shot by Somali pirates.

photo credits@joongang ilbo