Samho Dream is a South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

n, Marshall-Island flagged supertanker that was carrying oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

 from Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 when it was hijacked by Somali pirates on April 4, 2010. At the time, the vessel was manned by 24 crew: five South Koreans and nineteen Filipinos. 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, and the Irene SL.

The Samho Dream was built in 2002.