US Navy Arrests 7 Suspected Pirates

Eight pirates captured while trying to escape

(NEWSER) - A US warship stepped in to defend a Tanzanian ship that was under attack from pirates, scaring off and capturing the scallywags. When the USS Farragut got a distress call from the Tanzanians saying a gang on a skiff was attacking them, a Seahawk helicopter was dispatched to the scene. The pirates fled at the sight of the copter, but it stopped their skiff by firing across its bow. More»

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

(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. More»

In Jefferson's time, US hit land bases

(NEWSER) - One way for the US to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden is to cut it off at the source, targeting Somali pirate land bases. Coupled with economic and food aid for Somalia’s citizens, this plan is the only “silver-bullet solution,” an analyst tells Bloomberg. Such a strategy hearkens back two centuries to Thomas Jefferson’s eradication of the Barbary pirates. More»

(NEWSER) - A little international publicity won't deter Somali pirates. Hijackers seized a tugboat in the Gulf of Aden today, the AP reports. The vessel is Italian-owned—initial reports said American—and at least 10 of its 16 crew members are Italian. The tugboat had been towing two barges off Somalia's northern coast. The hijacking takes places as the standoff continues between the Navy and pirates holding an American hostage in a lifeboat. More»

US Navy comes to rescue after suspicious craft approach liner in dangerous waters

(NEWSER) - Frightened British cruise ship passengers were herded below decks in a chilling encounter with Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the Sun reports. The crew sent up flares and fashioned fake guns out of wood to appear to be armed when they spotted two suspicious small craft speeding toward the liner. A US Navy ship sped to the scene and escorted the Balmoral to safety. More»