SEOUL: A South Korean appeals court Thursday upheld a life sentence on a Somali pirate convicted of hijacking a South Korean-operated ship in the Arabian Sea and trying to murder the captain.

The high court in the southern port of Busan confirmed the sentence passed in late May on Mahomed Araye after the 23-year-old had appealed.

Prosecutors had sought the death sentence for Araye for shooting and seriously injuring Captain Seok Hae-Kyun of the chemical carrier Samho Jewelry with an AK rifle.

He was one of five pirates captured during a dramatic January 21 raid by South Korean navy commandos to rescue the ship. Eight other pirates were killed.

The five were brought to Busan, the ship's home, for trial.

All 21 crew - eight South Koreans, two Indonesians and 11 from Myanmar - were freed unhurt apart from Captain Seok, 58, who is still recovering in hospital after multiple operations.

The court Thursday also upheld sentences of 13 to 15 years on three other pirates.

But it reduced the sentence on Abdulahi Husseen Maxamuud to 12 years from 15, saying he showed “great remorse and admitted all charges”.

The judges also took into account the fact that the 20-year-old had treated South Korean sailors well while they were held hostage, a court official told AFP.

The high-profile trial was the first attempt by South Korea, a major maritime nation, to punish foreign pirates.

The crime has surged in recent years off Somalia, a lawless, war-torn country that sits alongside one of the world's most important shipping routes.

Investigators say some of the pirates involved in the January raid had taken part in the hijacking last year of a South Korean supertanker operated by the same firm as the Samho Jewelry.

The 300,000-tonne Samho Dream and its 24 crew were released after a reported dollar 9 million ransom payment was made.