''Samho Dream'' is a

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n, Marshall-Island flagged

supertanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

that was carrying

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

from

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

when it was

hijacked Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''like ...

Somali pirates Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somal ...

on April 4, 2010. At the time, the vessel was crewed by 24 sailors: five South Koreans and nineteen

Filipinos Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or othe ...

. The owner of the craft, Korea-based SH Tankers Limited said a pirate source named Mohamed had said the ship was heading for Haradheere, the pirates' base at which many ships are held during ransom negotiations. On November 6, 2010, after being held for 217 days, the ship was released from under pirate control for a ransom of about $9 million. Three other VLCCs that have been ransomed by pirates are the '' Sirius Star'', the ''

Maran Centaurus Piracy off the coast of Somalia has been a threat to international shipping since the beginning of the Somali Civil War in the early 1990s. Since 2005, many international organizations have expressed concern over the rise in acts of piracy. Pirac ...

'', and the ''

Irene SL M/T ''Irene SL'' is a Greek-owned and -operated VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) or supertanker. It was pirated presumably by Somali pirates on February 9, 2011 approximately 350 miles Southeast of Muscat, Oman in the Arabian Sea. Built in 2004, ...

''. The VLCC was arrested on its arrival in Hong Kong on 18 October 2011. Admiralty judge Justice Anselmo Reyes ordered that the ship be sold over the non-payment of bank loans, according to the South China Morning Post, as Samho Shipping filed for bankruptcy protection after the Busan-based company ran out of cash. The ''Samho Dream'' was built in 2002, and has been renamed ''Skopelos'' by its new owners.

References

Maritime incidents in 2010 Piracy in Somalia Oil tankers 2002 ships {{Merchantship-stub

See also

References