Africa News
US marines intercept hijacked ship off Somali coast
May 24, 2010, 15:43 GMT
Manama - A US destroyer intercepted a hijacked ship with around 50 pirates on board last week, authorities said on Monday.
The container ship M/V Iceberg I, with 24 crew members on board, had been captured by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia, nearly two months ago.
The USS McFaul identified the ship, despite the pirates having painted over its name and re-named it Sea Express, a spokesperson from the region's counter-piracy task force said in the Bahraini capital Manama.
The US marines had first noticed the ship on Wednesday and sent a radio message. The crew answered that they were on their way to the next port to have some repairs done.
The marines then radioed that they wanted to come on board, at which point the crew replied that they had been hijacked by heavily armed pirates.
'First and foremost our responsibility is to ensure the safety of the crew,' said the commander of the USS Faul, Ronald Toland. 'Given the report of heavily armed pirates on board, it was more prudent to monitor the ship's movement, rather than attempt a rescue.'
His crew followed the ship's movements for the next 36 hours, until it begin to sail towards the coast of Somalia.
The marines said they suspected the pirates wanted either to help other pirates who had fallen into difficulties at sea, or to use the ship to capture another vessel.
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