According to the NY Times, the crew of a Maersk U.S. container ship regained control of their ship from Somali pirates who boarded the ship off the coast of Somalia early this morning.
A Pentagon official speaking on condition of anonymity to the NY Times said that one of the pirates was in custody on board the ship. The official said the status of the other pirates is unknown but they were reported to “be in the water” — translation: swimming with the fishes.
“All the crew members are trained in security detail in how to deal with piracy,” Maersk CEO John Reinhart told reporters. “As merchant vessels we do not carry arms. We have ways to push back, but we do not carry arms.”
Somali pirates take advantage of the “no arms” rule by laying in wait for ships to venture near the coast of Somalia then hijacking the ships for ransom. The pirates made world news last year when they hijacked a Ukrainian arms freighter. The owners paid $3.2 million in cash, dropped by parachute to the deck of the freighter.
This is thought to be the first time Somali pirates commandeered a U.S. flagged ship in that area.
