Samho Dream is being shadowed by the South Korean Navy
A South Korean Navy Destroyer sent to intercept an oil tanker hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean has caught up with its target, according to media reports.
South Korean defense officials told the media that the Destroyer was keeping a close watch of the hijacked vessel.
The Samho Dream, a 300,000-ton South Korean supertanker, believed to be carrying almost 2 million barrels of oil, was hijacked by Somali pirates about 690 miles (1,111km) north of the Somali coast, reported CNN.
The Combined Maritime Forces -- a cooperative effort by several countries to patrol international waters -- warned that pirates in the Somali basin and Gulf of Aden are venturing farther from home waters to target commercial vessels.
At current prices the vessels cargo could be worth about $170 million. Previously pirates have received ransoms of around $3m for the return of seized tankers.