USS Bulkeley frees pirated ship (PHOTOS)

This weeks incident photos comes to us via the USS Bulkeley which, over the weekend, successfully freed the Japanese-owned tanker M/V Guanabara and her crew of 24 from pirate control off the coast of Somalia.

At approximately 3.00pm local time on Mar. 5., at report came in from the Japanese-owned commercial oil tanker M/V Guanabara that it was under attack by pirates off the coast of Somalia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Wade/Released)

According to reports, after Guanabara’s master confirmed the suspected pirates were on board, he and his crew had taken refuge in the ship’s “citadel”. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Wade/Released)

The guided-missile destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG 84), assigned to CMF’s counter-piracy mission Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 was directed to intercept Guanabara, supported by the Turkish warship TCG Giresun of NATO’s counter-piracy Task Force 508. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Wade/Released)

Bulkeley’s specialist boarding team, supported overhead by its embarked SH-60 helicopter, secured the Bahamian-flagged vessel and detained four men with no exchange of fire from either sides. Here, the suspected pirates indicate their surrender with a white cloth on the bow. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Anna Wade/Released)