28 May, 2017
On Saturday South Korea has dispatched a naval unit after losing contact of the vessel near Somalia's waters, according to South Korea's Foreign Ministry.
South Korea's naval anti-piracy unit, which was on routine patrol off Somalia, was urgently dispatched to the site, the official added. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office rules.
The ministry had said earlier that South Korean authorities were working with their counterparts in countries, including the United States, Germany, India and Japan, to trace the vehicle.
Seoul's Foreign Ministry said it planned to "close the case" after the vessel's South Korean captain confirmed the safety of his crew in a telephone call with a South Korean business partner.
The 234-ton Mongolian-flagged fishing vessel was traveling from Indonesia to Oman when radio contact was lost shortly after midnight on Saturday.
Somali pirates were reported have hijacked a South Korean fishing vessel suspected of carrying out illegal fishing off the coast of Somalia, Garowe Online reports.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered related government agencies and the military to "invest full efforts into the rescue operations, while putting the protection of lives first", the ministry said.
Twenty-one crew members -- three South Korean and 18 Indonesian -- were on board the squid-catching vessel owned by a Korean businessman with South African nationality.
The United States is closely watching a recent increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia and a senior U.S. military official says the rise in piracy attacks has at least partially been driven by starvation and drought in the region.
On Tuesday, Somali pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing vessel to use as a base to attack bigger, more valuable ships, part of an upsurge in attacks following years of relative calm.
