U.S. Navy detains, releases six suspected pirates..Three Pirate Attacks Reported Off Somalia

CNN -- U.S. naval forces hunting pirates off Somalia detained six people this week who appeared to be pursuing a commercial shipping vessel, but soon released them because of a lack of evidence The Navy said on Saturday the six matched the description of suspected pirates aboard a skiff in the area. The naval crew saw the men throwing objects overboard before they picked up the suspects.Investigators didn't say what was thrown overboard but said the evidence was not sufficient "to hold the suspects for prosecution."The detentions reflect the aggressive U.S.-led fight against piracy. The United States is spearheading an international naval task force in the waters off Somalia that launched in February after a rash of attacks.
Participating ships are patrolling more than a million square miles of water, an area about four times the size of Texas, Navy officials have said.The Navy said it arrested the six on Friday after responding to a distress call from the Philippines-flagged MV Bison Express in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia. The ship, a livestock carrier, reported a small skiff containing six heavily armed pirates was pursuing it.The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg arrived and found a skiff matching the description. A Seahawk helicopter flew from the Gettysburg over the skiff and reported seeing objects being thrown overboard, the Navy said...more..http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/03/21/somalia.pirates/
Pirates of Somalia

Three Pirate Attacks Reported Off Somalia

TOKYO — Pirates fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at Japanese, Greek and Hong Kong cargo ships off the coast of Somalia but fled after the ships took evasive maneuvers, officials said Monday.No one was injured in the attacks, the latest to be reported in Somalia's pirate-infested waters.Masami Suekado, a Japanese Transport Ministry official, said pirates in two small vessels approached the Jasmine Ace and fired several shots before fleeing. Bullets broke windows and hit the ceiling of the bridge.Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, said the attack was one of three Sunday off southern Somalia, about 500 nautical miles from the coast.In the other attacks, pirates in two small boats fired RPGs and machine guns for 30 minutes at a Hong Kong container ship but the vessel managed to escape by increasing speed and carrying out evasive maneuvers.
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