USS Ashland Captures Possible Pirates
April 11th, 2010 - 7:52 pm ICT by GDBy Madhuri Dey
Djibouti, Apr 11, (THAINDIAN NEWS) A warship of the United States navy, USS Ashland, has captured a group of six men whom they suspect to be pirates responsible for the series of hijackings that are being carried out in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. The incident comes right after a Turkish bulk carrier, Yasin C, was hijacked on Wednesday, possibly by pirates, some 250 miles east of Mombasa. The ship, however, was abandoned by the hijackers, and it has been reported that the passengers were all unharmed in the incident. This is only one of the incidents that have been plaguing the navy in the region, where pirate activity has been constantly on the rise.
The capture of the suspected pirates took place on Saturday, some 300 nautical miles off the Djibouti coast. According to reports, the six people began to fire at the amphibious USS Ashland from their skiff. The skiff went up in flames when the navy ship also returned fire. All the six men were rescued from the waters, and were taken on board the navy ship. They were carried over to the USS Ashland in inflatable rigid hull boats, where they were given immediate medical assistance.
It has been reported that none of the crew in the navy ship suffered any harm, and neither was the ship itself damaged in any way. This was not the first encounter between the US navy and suspected pirates in the region. Two other encounters had occurred before this, the latest occurring only last Monday. Despite diligent anti-piracy methods being implemented, pirate activity does not show any sign of being curbed.
- Indian Navy, Coast Guard foil another piracy attempt (Lead) - Feb 06, 2011
- Indian Navy captures 61 Somali pirates - Mar 14, 2011
- Navy thwarts pirate attack on two cargo ships - Sep 26, 2011
- Time to frame rules to protect our fisherfolk (Comment) - Jul 23, 2012
- Frenchwoman being held by Somali pirates rescued - Sep 12, 2011
- US indicts 11 pirates for attacks on its naval ships - Apr 23, 2010
- Indian marine commandos chase pirate ship away from Arabian Sea - Nov 30, 2010
- Indian Navy foils another piracy attempt - Nov 11, 2011
- Indian Navy foils pirate attack on Chinese vessel - May 06, 2011
- Somali pirates release Greek ship, then hijack another - Jan 17, 2011
- Larger deployment of forces will prevent pirate attacks: Navy Chief - Jan 31, 2011
- Foreign ships plying close to Indian coast warned - Mar 13, 2012
- Another menacing pirate mother vessel neutralized by Indian Navy and Coast Guard - Feb 06, 2011
- Ten Somali Pirates Captured By Dutch Navy - Apr 08, 2010
- Indian Navy arrests 61 pirates, rescues 13 sailors - Mar 14, 2011
Tags: bulk carrier, dey, djibouti, first encounter, gulf of aden, hijackers, hijackings, last monday, medical assistance, nautical miles, navy ship, pirate, rigid hull boats, six men, skiff, united states navy, us navy, uss ashland, warship, yasin