Posted:
April 16, 2009
Somali pirates April 14 fired on the U.S.-flagged M/V Liberty Sun with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades south of the Gulf of Aden, the American Forces Press Service reported. The ship was damaged but no injuries were reported, and the pirates were not successful in their attempts to board the ship.
The USS Bainbridge—which had completed its role in the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips, master of the Maersk Alabama, from the pirates holding him hostage aboard a lifeboat—responded to the Liberty Sun's distress call. The pirates had fled by the time the Bainbridge arrived, and a security detail was transferred from the Bainbridge to the Liberty Sun.
Somali pirates vowed reprisals against U.S.-flagged vessels and any future American hostages following the successful U.S. operation to free Phillips.
In a statement, the Liberty Sun's operator, Liberty Maritime Corporation, commended the entire crew for their professionalism and poise under fire. The ship was on a voyage to Mombasa, Kenya, carrying American food-aid cargo for African nations suffering from famine. Earlier, the vessel had discharged thousands of tons of American food-aid cargo in Port Sudan and was continuing its voyage with additional food aid when it came under fire. After the attack, the ship continued to Mombasa.
Second U.S.-flagged merchant ship attacked by pirates
Somali pirates April 14 fired on the U.S.-flagged M/V Liberty Sun with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades south of the Gulf of Aden, the American Forces Press Service reported. The ship was damaged but no injuries were reported, and the pirates were not successful in their attempts to board the ship.
The USS Bainbridge—which had completed its role in the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips, master of the Maersk Alabama, from the pirates holding him hostage aboard a lifeboat—responded to the Liberty Sun's distress call. The pirates had fled by the time the Bainbridge arrived, and a security detail was transferred from the Bainbridge to the Liberty Sun.
Somali pirates vowed reprisals against U.S.-flagged vessels and any future American hostages following the successful U.S. operation to free Phillips.
In a statement, the Liberty Sun's operator, Liberty Maritime Corporation, commended the entire crew for their professionalism and poise under fire. The ship was on a voyage to Mombasa, Kenya, carrying American food-aid cargo for African nations suffering from famine. Earlier, the vessel had discharged thousands of tons of American food-aid cargo in Port Sudan and was continuing its voyage with additional food aid when it came under fire. After the attack, the ship continued to Mombasa.