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Pirates Fail in Attack on US Ship

It's now under escort of USS Bainbridge, with Capt. Phillips

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 14, 2009 10:27 PM CDT

(Newser) – Capt. Richard Phillips' reunion with his crew and family may be delayed a bit because of yet another pirate attack. Somali pirates fired on another US ship today but failed to board it, CNN reports. That ship, the Liberty Sun, is now under the military escort of the USS Bainbridge—the same ship that rescued Phillips and is carrying him back to land. He's still due to fly back to the US sometime tomorrow, assuming the Bainbridge isn't diverted further.

"The pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the vessel, which sustained damage," said a statement from Liberty Maritime Corporation in New York, which owns the Liberty Sun. An Illinois woman said her son is aboard the ship and emailed her news of the initial attack. About 90 minutes later, he told her the Navy had arrived and "all is well."

[Images (8)]

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The USS Bainbridge, in a 2007 file photo. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Petty Officer 2nd Class Vincent J. Street)

Capt. Richard Phillips after his rescue. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy photo)

A Kenyan police boat patrols near the Maersk Alabama at the port of Mombasa, Kenya, Monday, April 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)

In this undated photo, suspected pirates are seen after they were intercepted by marine commandos of the French Navy in the Gulf of Aden. (AP Photo/ECPAD-French Defense Ministry)

The Maersk Alabama ship lies in dock as the sun sets Monday, April 13, 2009 at Port of Mombasa Kenya. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)

The sun sets behind the Norwegian-registered Bow Asir, Monday, April 13, 2009 after it arrived in the port of Mombasa. The owner of a Norwegian tanker says it has been released by Pirates, two weeks after... (AP Photo / Karel Prinsloo)

An unidentified crew member of the Maersk Alabama is seen on the ship at the port of Mombasa, Kenya, Monday, April 13, 2009. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)

This Sept. 25, 2007 photo Monday April 13, 2009, shows the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge underway off the coast of Somalia Sept. 25, 2007 while conducting anti-piracy operations. (AP Photo/U.S. Navy, Petty Officer 2nd Class Vincent J. Street)

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We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets. Also bullets. We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no one is hurt. - Thomas Urbik, Wheaton, Ill., aboard ship

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Pirates Fail in Attack on US Ship