Owner Sohae Sonbak Notes IMO number 7944695 Crew 22 Length 122 m | Port of registry North Korea Tonnage 6390 Launched 1978 Builder Huichon | |
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The Dai Hong Dan is a North Korean cargo ship which was hijacked in October 2007 by pirates near Mogadishu. The crew was able to retake the ship by storming the bridge and the engineering spaces, leaving one pirate dead in the action. Six Korean sailors were also injured during the fight; three critically. The surviving pirates were rumored to have been released on a lifeboat, only for their former captors to shoot the boat below the waterline, drowning the rest of the survivors.
A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer, USS James E. Williams (DDG 95), was the nearest coalition force in the region. After reaching the scene, the James E. Williams deployed a SH-60B helicopter and a VBSS (Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure) team to secure the scene. Navy medical personnel then provided care for the injured crew members.