Suspected Somali Pirates attack US Navy Support Boat

Suspected Somali pirates have attacked a US Navy support boat off the coast of the troubled Horn of Africa state, the US Navy said Thursday.

The targeted vessel, the USNS Lewis and Clark, a Norfolk-based dry cargo and ammunition storage ships, is no stranger to pirates. Earlier this year, the ship was used as a temporarily jail for suspected Somali pirates after about a dozen men were captured by a Navy-led, anti-piracy task force. The suspected pirates were eventually returned to Somalia. The a civilian ship normally used to transport cargo and ammunition, used to be configured to hold about a dozen pirates — and at one point held as many as 16 suspects.

The supply vessel with a crew of about 11 sailors and 124 civilians, was chased for more than an hour by two pirate boats, taking emergency evasive action after being fired upon by small arms in the attack on Wednesday morning, the US Navy 5th Fleet said in a statement. The supply boat was "approached by suspected pirates off the eastern coast of Somalia and took evasive action to prevent a successful attack," the statement said. >From about two nautical miles away, the armed men in the skiffs fired small arms at the supply ship and got within a nautical mile, but the bullets fell short of reaching the target. The supply ship sped up and used a special acoustic device to warn the boats to stop. Eventually the two attacking boats gave up and retreated.

The Lewis and Clark has an “embarked security team,” according to a Central Command news release. It’s not clear whether the team is armed, or whether the boat has any guns mounted on it for protection. Capt. Steve Kelley, commander of Task Force 53, which the supply ship is assigned to, said the crew’s actions “were exactly what the U.S. Navy has been recommending to prevent piracy attacks for both commercial and military vessels. Merchant mariners can and should use Lewis and Clark’s actions as an unequivocal example of how to prevent a successful attack from occurring.”

Until March, the Military Sealift Command ship had served as a staging platform for the U.S.-led Combined Task Force 151. In February, 16 suspected pirates nabbed in separate incidents were detained on the Lewis and Clark until the Navy could transfer them to Kenya. In March, it no longer was needed to combat the piracy efforts, and reverted to its main mission as a cargo ship in support of military operations in the area, officials said. The Navy-contracted ship was sailing north about 115 miles off of Somalia’s coast to provide supplies for U.S. Navy and coalition ships operating in the area. It was carrying primarily fuel, Christensen said, but it is also used to re-supply ships at sea with food, supplies and parts, and often delivers sailors’ mail. An embarked U.S. military security crew did not fire any weapons at the skiffs, and used only a Long Range Acoustical Device, or LRAD, to issue verbal warnings, Christensen said. The security team did not return fire because it is primarily there to provide "point defense" for the ship and crew, Christensen said.

Source Ecoterra Intl, May 8, 2009

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