Cruiser captures 7 suspected pirates - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Cruiser captures 7 suspected pirates

The cruiser Vella Gulf captured seven suspected pirates Wednesday off Somalia, becoming the first U.S. ship to bring in would-be hijackers since the Navy stood up its dedicated counter-piracy force.

The Vella Gulf heard a distress call at about 3 p.m. local time from the merchant vessel Polaris, which reported that men in a small boat had attempted to come aboard on a ladder, a Navy official said. The Polaris’ crew removed the ladder before the men could climb up.

As this was happening, the Vella Gulf changed its course and increased speed to rendezvous with the Polaris. En route, the cruiser intercepted the small boat the merchant sailors had described.

“The skiff contained individuals fitting the physical descriptions given by Polaris crew members,” a Navy statement said. “A Vella Gulf visit, board, search and seizure team conducted a consensual boarding and found several weapons.”

When the Vella Gulf met up with the Polaris, the merchant ship’s crew identified the men in the small boat as the ones who had tried to force their way aboard. So they were taken into custody aboard the U.S. warship.

The suspected pirates will likely stay aboard the Vella Gulf until sometime Thursday, when they’ll be transferred to a new temporary brig aboard the Military Sealift Command supply ship Lewis and Clark. One of the Lewis and Clark’s cargo holds has been outfitted with foam pallets and portable toilets to serve as a holding area for as many as 26 people. A detachment of Marines aboard the ship serves as guards.

The captured men will only be held aboard the Lewis and Clark until they can be taken to Kenya, where a new court system is being set up to try and punish pirates.

The world’s governments and navies have struggled with how to respond to the rampant piracy off the lawless coast of Somalia. The new pirate courts are one step, along with the dedicated anti-piracy armada, Combined Task Force 151, of which the Vella Gulf is flagship. Other warships, from Europe, Russia and China, also patrol the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the coast of Somalia.