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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...

Suspected Somali pirates fired on a U.S. Navy warship off East Africa early Thursday in what appeared to be a ransom-seeking attack on an American guided missile frigate, officials said. The USS Nicholas returned fire on the pirate skiff, sinking it and confiscating a nearby mothership. The Navy took five pirates into custody, said Navy Lt. Patrick Foughty, a spokesman. International naval forces have stepped up their enforcement of the waters off East Africa in an effort to thwart a growing pirate trade. [Snip] Thursday's attack came just shy of a year since pirates attacked the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama...

NAIROBI, Kenya - U.S. naval forces say they've captured five pirates after exchanging fire with them, sinking their skiff and confiscating a mother ship. The USS Nicholas came under fire early Thursday from pirates in an area west of the Seychelles. The U.S. Africa Command said the five pirates seized would remain in U.S. custody on board the frigate for time being. The Nicholas is home-ported in Norfolk, Va. International naval forces have stepped up their enforcement of the waters off East Africa in an effort to thwart a growing pirate trade. Experts say piracy will continue to be a...

NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va., Aug. 29, 2005 – USS Saipan, USS Nashville and USS Nicholas returned to Naval Station Norfolk Aug. 25 from a three-month “surge” deployment. The ships surged May 25 under the Navy’s Fleet Response Plan. The Navy developed FRP to find new ways of operating, training, manning and maintaining the fleet so as to improve combat power and readiness, particularly in the ongoing battle against terrorism. Unlike most ships, these three deployed with less than two months to prepare, but the sailors on board understood why, said Vice Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, Commander U.S. 2nd Fleet, at the...