Continued U.S. Navy operations against pirates off Somalia.

• Author: Crook, John R.

The U.S. Navy has increased its operations against pirates utilizing small boats off the coast of Somalia, where more than two dozen ships reportedly have been hijacked this year, with many then being held for ransom. U.S. Navy vessels reportedly aided hijacked cargo ships twice in late October, in the process providing assistance to three wounded North Korean crewmen injured in fighting pirates who seized their ship. (1) In early November, after speaking by radio with U.S. Navy personnel, pirates freed two large South Korean-owned, Tanzanian-flagged fishing vessels seized in May and reportedly being held for ransom. (2) In December, U.S. and German Navy vessels joined in freeing a hijacked Japanese-owned, Panamanian-flagged chemical tanker, the Golden Nori. (3)

A U.S. Navy news release provided information regarding these multinational maritime security operations and the November incident involving a North Korean vessel.

Crew members from the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS James E. Williams (DDG 95) provided care and assistance for approximately 12 hours to crew members and pirates aboard the North Korean cargo vessel Dai Hong Dan, after the crew regained control of the ship from the pirates.

Dai Hong Dan's crew regained control of their vessel Tuesday, Oct. 30, after confronting the pirates who had taken over their ship Monday, Oct. 29. The crew was able to control the steering and engineering spaces of the ship, while the pirates had seized the bridge. The ship is approximately 60 nautical miles northeast of Mogadishu.

Three U.S. Navy corpsmen and a security team from Williams provided medical assistance and other support. Six pirates were captured and one is dead. The pirates remain aboard Dai Hong Dan.

Combined Maritime Forces Headquarters, based in Bahrain, received a call from the International Maritime Bureau, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the morning of Oct. 30, providing the status of the Dai Hong Dan. At that time, Williams was about 50 nautical miles from the vessel and sent a helicopter to investigate the situation. Williams arrived in the vicinity of the Korean ship midday local time and contacted the pirates via bridge-to-bridge radio, ordering them to give up their weapons.

At that point, the Korean crew confronted the pirates, regained control of the ship and began communicating with...