USS Nicholas
Posted on 04/01/2010 8:30:22 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The small gang of Somali pirates fired on an approaching ship, hoping their midnight attack would bring them millions in ransom. The ragtag bandits, though, had taken on far more than they could handle: a U.S. warship.
The USS Nicholas, a guided missile frigate, was tracking the pirates when they opened fire early Thursday in Indian Ocean waters, the U.S. military said. The Nicholas, which saw combat in the first Gulf War, returned fire and disabled the skiff.
Navy personnel later boarded and detained three suspects. The Americans found two more bandits on a nearby mothership and later sank the skiff.
It was not the first attack against a Navy ship, but it underscored the fact that most pirates aren't terribly sophisticated, said Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the British think tank Chatham House.
"If you think of the kind of young men who are doing this, they go out into the middle of the ocean in a tiny boat. They might not always make rational decisions, and they often attack things that are bigger than they should (attack)," said Middleton.
"It's also quite possible that they don't have a full understanding of the targets they are attacking. Perhaps they just see a big ship they think is a worth a lot of money," he said.
International naval forces have stepped up their enforcement of the waters off East Africa in an effort to thwart a growing pirate trade. Thursday's attack took place between the coast of Kenya and the island nation of Seychelles, said Navy Lt. Patrick Foughty, a spokesman.
Last May, pirates chased a U.S. Navy warship and fired small arms at it. The ship, which had recently served as a prison for captured pirates, increased speed and evaded the attack. French and Dutch naval ships
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Sighted Pirate, sank same. end.
I bet we have treated them to special Hallal meals as they are Muslim.
When does the court martial begin for the crew?
I suppose the Obama administration will have these pirates read their Miranda rights and be tried in US civilian courts for disorderly conduct. They should be shot on sight and fed to the sharks.
They should bring back the old “Q” ships
Capture? Hell, they should have killed every damned one of them.
A man given to understatement.
My guess - the sailors on the USS Nicholas were laughing their butts off over this attack.
Oh sh!t! Yassef, row backwards! Row backwards! Faster! Faster!
Pirate #2 "I knew we was in trouble when we hear no reggae music as we rowed up to ship."
Have the pirates been read their Miranda rights?
Another set attacked a 7,000 ton Dutch
“Frigate” (more like destroyer). These morons need to learn to fear 76mm and 127mm guns. Stop capturing and start firing High explosive incendiary rounds.
Ya beat me to it. I was going to say the same thing.
Maybe just wound them enough and leave em for the sharks.
Looks like a missed opportunity to “test out” the Phalanx system.
Not very sophisticated. Okkkkkkk. But more like dumb as a brick.
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