SEOUL - SOUTH Korea plans to send a destroyer to the lawless waters off Somalia, where several of its merchant ships have been hijacked by pirates, a report said on Thursday.

Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed senior official as saying the government would seek parliamentary approval for the deployment during its current session, which ends on Dec 8.

'The South Korean warship, if dispatched, will cooperate with the US 5th Fleet in Oman and the French navy in Djibouti,' the official was quoted as saying.

The ship would be loaded with missiles and other weaponry and accompanied by Navy special forces in case of an emergency situation, the official said.

The defence ministry declined to confirm the report saying consultations were still under way with other government agencies.

A governmental team reviewed the situation off Somalia after pirates seized a South Korean cargo ship and 22 sailors on Sept 10. The sailors were released last month after the ship's owner paid a ransom.

The waters off Somalia are considered the world's most dangerous for piracy.

The International Maritime Bureau reported more than 24 attacks in the area between April and June alone.

Maritime experts say many attacks go unreported along the 3,700km of largely unpatrolled coast. Pirates operate high-powered speedboats and carry heavy machine guns and rocket launchers.

A South Korean tuna ship with 25 crew on board was hijacked by Somali pirates in April 2006. The ship and its crew were released after four months following the payment of a ransom.

Last year Somali pirates seized two South Korean vessels and 24 crew including four South Koreans.

The crew were released in November after six months in captivity. Local media reports said the pirates had demanded a ransom of US$5 million (S$7.57 million) before reducing the sum to an undisclosed figure.

A Turkish-flagged tanker with a 14-men crew became the latest victim of the pirates when it was hijacked off Yemen on Wednesday. -- AFP

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