Navy shoots at marauding pirates
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, June 6, 2007
MANAMA, Bahrain – U.S. military officials said Wednesday that a Navy ship recently fired on pirates who overtook a Danish vessel off Somalia’s coast.
The USS Carter Hall, part of a U.S. task force that helps maintain security off Somalia and nearby countries, engaged the pirates after they hijacked a Danish cargo ship, the Danica White, in international waters, said Lt. Denise Garcia, a public affairs officer at U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain.
The U.S. ship fired several warning shots across the Danica White’s bow and destroyed three small boats the pirates had used in their assault and were towing behind the Danish vessel, according to Garcia, who said the incident occurred Saturday.
The U.S. ship called off its pursuit after the pirates navigated the Danica White into Somalia’s territorial waters, where the U.S. does not have jurisdiction, Garcia said.
Pirates, often trained and heavily armed fighters using speedboats equipped with satellite phones and Global Positioning System equipment, are notoriously active off Somalia’s coast.
