Pirates Fire at U.S. Navy ship, U.S. Navy fires back

Photo by rickydiver78 via Flickr

We’ve seen pirates accidentally attack the wrong ship before, but this seem’s just plain stupid. A statement released by the U.S. Sixth Fleet tells us:

Indian Ocean (NAVEUR-NAVAF-C6F) — USS Nicholas (FFG 47) captured suspected pirates on Thursday after exchanging fire, sinking a skiff, and confiscating a suspected mother ship.

While operating west of the Seychelles in international waters, Nicholas reported taking fire at 12:27 a.m. local time from a suspected pirate skiff and returned fire before commencing pursuit of the vessel until the disabled skiff stopped.

At 1:59 a.m. personnel from Nicholas boarded the disabled skiff and detained three personnel. The boarding team found ammunition and multiple cans of fuel on board.

After taking the suspected pirates on board, Nicholas sank the disabled skiff at 2:59 a.m. An additional two suspected pirates were captured on the confiscated mother ship.

The suspected pirates will remain in U.S. custody on board Nicholas until a determination is made regarding their disposition.

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UPDATE: April 2, 2010

INDIAN OCEAN (March 31, 2010) The Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Farragut (DDG 99) passes by the smoke from a suspected pirate skiff it had just disabled. USS Farragut is part of Combined Task Force 151, a multinational task force established to conduct anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Cassandra Thompson/Released)