The crew of a North Korean cargo vessel, Dai Hong Dan, regained control of their vessel Oct. 30, after fighting with the pirates who had taken over their ship Oct. 29.| NKors versus Somali pirates. There's a tough one to sort out. Who to cheer for, who to cheer for ... |
Three corpsmen from USS James E. Williams (DDG 95), an Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer operating as part of the maritime coalition, along with a boarding team, provided medical assistance and other support as needed to the crew of the Korean vessel. Three seriously injured crew members have been transferred to Williams for treatment. Initial reports from the crew are that five pirates were captured and two are dead. The pirates remain aboard the Dai Hong Dan.
The Combined Maritime Forces Headquarters, based in Bahrain, received a call from the International Maritime Bureau, located in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Tuesday morning, providing the current status of the Dai Hong Dan. At that time, Williams was about 50 nm from the vessel and sent a helicopter to investigate the situation. Williams arrived in the vicinity of the Korean ship midday local time and contacted the pirates via bridge-to-bridge radio, ordering them to give up their weapons.
At that point, the Korean crew confronted the pirates and regained control of the ship, and then began communicating with Williams, requesting medical assistance. The crew said the pirates had been in control of the bridge, but the crew had retained control of the steering and engineering spaces.
| Real competent bunch of pirates, huh? |