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WASHINGTON, April 15, 2009 – Somali pirates fired on a U.S.-flagged merchant vessel south of the Gulf of Aden today, military officials reported. Pirates attacked the motor vessel Liberty Sun with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. The crew put out a distress call received by the U.S. Coast Guard. “The pirates were not successful in their attempt to board the vessel,” said Navy Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain. “The USS Bainbridge, [which] was in the general vicinity, responded to ensure Liberty Sun wasn’t in peril.” The pirates had fled by the time the...

Somali pirates attacked an American freighter with rockets to “destroy” the ship in revenge for an operation that freed a U.S. captain last weekend, one of their commanders said Wednesday. The freighter escaped the attack late Tuesday, but more vessels have fallen into the hands of marauding Somali bandits. “This attack was the first against our prime target,” pirate commander Abdi Garad told AFP of the attack on the Liberty Sun late Tuesday. “We intended to destroy this American-flagged ship and the crew on board but unfortunately they narrowly escaped us. “The aim of this attack was totally different. We...

An American cargo ship was attacked by pirates armed with grenade launchers and automatic weapons in the Gulf of Aden on Tuesday, but the attackers failed to take over the ship, which was able to continue with its delivery of food aid to the Kenyan port of Mombasa. The ship, the Liberty Sun, was damaged in the attack but the crew members were not hurt, according to a statement from the ship’s owner, Liberty Maritime, of Lake Success, N.Y. “We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets. Also bullets,” a crew member aboard the Liberty Sun,...

Somali pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at a US cargo ship yesterday but failed to hijack it. None of the 20 American crewmen on The Liberty Sun was injured in the brazen midday attack in international waters off Somalia, but the vessel sustained unspecified damage, according to its owner, Liberty Maritime of Long Island. "We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets. Also bullets," crewman Thomas Urbik wrote his mother in an e-mail. "We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no one is hurt. [A] rocket penetrated the bulkhead but the...

Pirates have used rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons to attack another US merchant ship off the coast of Somalia. The pirates damaged the Liberty Sun, which was carrying a cargo of food aid, but were not able to board it. The ship asked for assistance from the American warship involved in the rescue of a US captain seized last week. Pirates have vowed to avenge the deaths of those killed in recent rescue operations by US and French forces. The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Washington says the latest attack shows the danger posed by pirates off the Somali coast. Despite...

Pirates attacks an American-flagged commercial vessel Tuesday in an unsuccessful new hijacking attempt off of the coast of Somalia.At about noon EDT, the Liberty Sun, with a crew of about 20 U.S. citizens, reported to the Coast Guard that they were being attacked by pirates. The U.S. Navy dispatched the USS Bainbridge in response, a Department of Defense official told FOX News. The official confirmed it was a failed piracy attempt, and by the time the warship arrived several hours later, the pirates were gone. The Navy was unable to track the pirate ship, but may have had them...

Long Island based ship, Liberty Sun, was carrying humanitarian aide. The 20 man crew is apparently unhurt as USS Bainbridge makes its way towards distressed vessel.

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WASHINGTON (CNN — The Liberty Sun, a U.S.-flagged cargo ship bound for Mombasa, Kenya, was attacked Tuesday by Somali pirates, according to a NATO source with direct knowledge of the matter. It was an unsuccessful attack, and the pirates never made it onto the ship. The vessel is now being escorted by a coalition ship, still bound for Mombasa.