US Navy arrests 7 suspected pirates in Gulf of Aden

MANAMA (AFP) - The US Navy said it arrested seven suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday after Marshall Islands-flagged ship Polaris sent a distress call to say outlaws had attempted a forcible boarding,Polaris crew members removed the pirates' ladder before they could clamber aboard, the Fifth Fleet said in a statement. A team from the guided missile cruiser USS Vella Gulf then intercepted a small skiff containing seven men matching descriptions given by the Polaris crew, it added. It is the first time that suspected pirates have been caught by a vessel from CTF 151, the multinational task force conducting counter-piracy operations in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, the statement said. The suspected pirates, whose nationality was not given, are being held on board the Vella Gulf until they transfer to a temporary holding facility onboard the supply ship USNS Lewis and Clark. Pirates attacked more than 130 merchant ships in the Gulf of Aden last year, an increase of more than 200 percent on 2007, according to the International Maritime Bureau which tracks piracy and shipping security issues. Heavily armed pirates operate high-powered speedboats and sometimes hold ships for weeks before releasing them for large ransoms paid by governments or shipowners. More than 150 suspected pirates were arrested by naval patrols in the Gulf in 2008.http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/090211/world/somalia_piracy_arrests