A 6 500-TEU containership owned by Hanjin managed to escape a pirate attack after the 20-man crew hid in the ship’s reinforced “citadel”, according to a KTS News story carried by Hellenic Shipping News.
The Korean container vessel, the Hanjin Tianjin, signaled an SOS to both the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and the headquarters of Hanjin Shipping in Seoul when it came under attack by pirates at sea 250-miles off a Yemeni island on its way from Spain to Singapore.
But the pirates’ attempt to kidnap the container ship - apparently for ransom in return for their release - ended in failure. Immediately after the attack, the captain of the ship stopped the engine and had all 12 Koreans and eight Indonesians hide in a bullet-proof citadel inside the ship, all according to the manual drawn up since the pirates’ attempt to hijack the Samho Jewelry freighter in February and an earlier seizure of the Samho Dream.
Pirates eventually gave up their hijacking attempt and abandoned the ship before the Korean antipiracy destroyer Choi Young arrived on the scene 14-hours later. The crew and the ship were safely guarded so they could return home.
