Moby
04-01-2010, 04:03 PM
Go get em!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100401/wl_afp/uspiracyshippingseychelles
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A US warship on Thursday captured five suspected pirates who had opened fire from a small boat in the Indian Ocean near the Seychelles, the US Navy said.
The skiff was no match for the missile-guided frigate USS Nicholas, which returned fire and quickly chased down the boat.
The Americans took three suspects into custody before sinking the vessel, the US Sixth Fleet said in a statement.
Two more suspected pirates were detained from a "mother ship," and that boat was seized, it said.
The lifting of the winter monsoon in the region has spurred a fresh spate of attacks by pirates able to venture hundreds of miles (kilometers) from their bases and approach their prey on relatively calm seas.
Taipei officials meanwhile said Thursday they feared a Taiwanese fishing boat had been hijacked off Somalia after another was attacked by pirates who wounded an Indonesian sailor.
The 80-tonne Jih-chun Tsai 68 lost contact with its owner as it was sailing in waters off Somalia around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT) Tuesday, the foreign ministry said.
The US frigate reported coming under fire at 12:27 am local time from the suspected pirates, the US Navy said.
"At 1:59 am personnel from Nicholas boarded the disabled skiff and detained three personnel. The boarding team found ammunition and multiple cans of fuel on board."
The navy had yet to decide the legal fate of the detained suspects and did not disclose their nationality.
"We are still evaluating different options" on how to deal with the detainees, Lieutenant Patrick Foughty, spokesman for the Sixth Fleet, told AFP.
"There is an agreement that the US has with Kenya but that's just one of many options our legal team is looking at right now," he said.
The American warship was not part of the US-led coalition carrying out counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa, officials said.
In a separate incident, six Seychellois fishermen rescued from Somali pirates were returned home Wednesday after three days of high-seas drama which saw the Seychelles coast guard sink several pirate boats.
The Seychelles economy relies heavily on tuna fishing and tourism and the archipelago has had several ships hijacked since 2008.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100401/wl_afp/uspiracyshippingseychelles
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A US warship on Thursday captured five suspected pirates who had opened fire from a small boat in the Indian Ocean near the Seychelles, the US Navy said.
The skiff was no match for the missile-guided frigate USS Nicholas, which returned fire and quickly chased down the boat.
The Americans took three suspects into custody before sinking the vessel, the US Sixth Fleet said in a statement.
Two more suspected pirates were detained from a "mother ship," and that boat was seized, it said.
The lifting of the winter monsoon in the region has spurred a fresh spate of attacks by pirates able to venture hundreds of miles (kilometers) from their bases and approach their prey on relatively calm seas.
Taipei officials meanwhile said Thursday they feared a Taiwanese fishing boat had been hijacked off Somalia after another was attacked by pirates who wounded an Indonesian sailor.
The 80-tonne Jih-chun Tsai 68 lost contact with its owner as it was sailing in waters off Somalia around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT) Tuesday, the foreign ministry said.
The US frigate reported coming under fire at 12:27 am local time from the suspected pirates, the US Navy said.
"At 1:59 am personnel from Nicholas boarded the disabled skiff and detained three personnel. The boarding team found ammunition and multiple cans of fuel on board."
The navy had yet to decide the legal fate of the detained suspects and did not disclose their nationality.
"We are still evaluating different options" on how to deal with the detainees, Lieutenant Patrick Foughty, spokesman for the Sixth Fleet, told AFP.
"There is an agreement that the US has with Kenya but that's just one of many options our legal team is looking at right now," he said.
The American warship was not part of the US-led coalition carrying out counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa, officials said.
In a separate incident, six Seychellois fishermen rescued from Somali pirates were returned home Wednesday after three days of high-seas drama which saw the Seychelles coast guard sink several pirate boats.
The Seychelles economy relies heavily on tuna fishing and tourism and the archipelago has had several ships hijacked since 2008.