U.S. Navy Captures Pirates

In Action off East Africa

Two U.S. Navy ships returned fire on Saturday on a group of suspected pirates off the coast of Somalia, killing one and wounding five, Navy officials said.The incident occurred in the Indian Ocean about 25 miles off the coast of Somalia as the USS Cape St. George, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Gonzalez, a guided missile destroyer, conducted maritime security operations.

A vessel was seen towing two smaller skiffs, the officials said. As boarding teams prepared to conduct a routine boarding, the Navy ships noticed the suspected pirates brandished what appeared to be rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

The suspected pirates then opened fire on the Navy ships. The two ships returned fire with small arms, the officials said.

One suspected pirate was killed and a fire ignited aboard the main vessel. The boarding teams took 12 other suspects, including the five who were injured, into custody, they said.

Trackbacks & Pings

  1. Unpartisan.com Political News and Blog Aggregator on 18 Mar 2006 at 3:31 pm

    U.S. Navy Exchanges Gunfire With Suspected Pirates…

    Two U.S. Navy ships exchanged gunfire with suspected pirates Saturday off the coast of Somalia, and …

  2. CDR Salamander on 18 Mar 2006 at 4:32 pm

    Stupid Pirate Tricks…

    Some people just don’t know when to say quit.

    A vessel was seen towing two smaller skiffs, the officials said. As boarding teams prepared to conduct a routine boarding, the Navy ships noticed the suspected pirates brandished what appeared to b….

  3. The LLama Butchers on 20 Mar 2006 at 8:02 am

    AVAST YE MATEYS!…

    U.S. Navy 2, Somali Pirates 0 And yes, I think the “Somali Pirates” would be a cool Double A franchise for their hapless mates in Pittsburgh. How freakin’ stupid do you have to be? Although, I think we should go……

Comments

  1. Michael the Thumper wrote:

    Exactly how dumb do you have to be to open fire on a cruiser and a destroyer?

    I mean, when the frickin’ U.S. Navy shows up on the horizon, wouldn’t the average pirate cut loose the skiffs and run like hell to get out of international waters?

    Posted 18 Mar 2006 at 2:23 pm

  2. CDR Salamander wrote:

    Talk about a death wish. Hey, looks like we granted one. They got lucky.

    What do you use for taking a Pirate? Skull and Crossbones painted on the bridge (my choice), or a real skinny guy (secret choice).

    Posted 18 Mar 2006 at 3:51 pm

  3. wolfwalker wrote:

    Michael asked “Exactly how dumb do you have to be to open fire on a cruiser and a destroyer?”

    I dunno. How dumb do you (ed. “How dumb would a pirate …“) have to be to believe the standard MSM line on how inept the US Navy is? It’s common knowledge that modern US Navy warships are built with only a single 5-inch gun mount, and no offensive automatic guns like the old 20mm or 40mm Oerlikon turrets. If you believe the Squids are as inept as the MSM says they are, you might well believe they wouldn’t have the brains to retrofit light guns like, say, .50-cal M2s onto warships assigned to antipiracy patrols, and that huge hulking Aegis cruiser didn’t actually have any way to defend itself against fast speedboats with RPGs.

    Posted 18 Mar 2006 at 6:08 pm

  4. CDR Salamander wrote:

    Huh?

    Posted 18 Mar 2006 at 6:51 pm

  5. Pixy Misa wrote:

    It’s common knowledge that modern US Navy warships are built with only a single 5-inch gun mount, and no offensive automatic guns like the old 20mm or 40mm Oerlikon turrets.

    It might be common knowledge, but it ain’t true. Both these ships have twin 20mm guns in addition to the 5-inch guns, Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles, and torpedoes.

    So the answer is: Very, very stupid, or a New York Times reader.

    But I repeat myself.

    Posted 18 Mar 2006 at 10:40 pm

  6. RonInAz wrote:

    Many ships have been equipped with the Mk38 25mm chain gun as well as ol’ reliable Ma Deuce for use against patrol boats and asymmetrical threats.

    I would be unsurprised if the Ticonderoga and Arleigh Burke class vessels in question were armed with these.

    Posted 19 Mar 2006 at 12:09 am

  7. wolfwalker wrote:

    Pixy Misa, Ron: Exactly my point. :-)

    The websites for both ships list their armament as standard for their class: long-range heavy weapons meant for the fleet combat role: Tomahawk, Harpoon, Mk46 torpedoes, one or two 5-inch guns, and Phalanx CIWS. The press never mentions things like retrofits or jury-rigs, and suggests that Phalanx can’t be used in an offensive role. A pirate might well think that if he stays a couple hundred meters away and keeps moving, a CG and a DDG won’t have any weapons that can touch him, and he can shoot them up with impunity.

    So you nailed it, Pixy Misa: very stupid, or a New York Slimes reader.

    Posted 19 Mar 2006 at 7:14 am

  8. Michael the Pirate wrote:

    I don’t care what the websites say. When the frickin’ U.S. Navy show up, I’m going to make a hasty departure.

    Posted 19 Mar 2006 at 8:25 pm

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