Navy aids 2 hijacked cargo ships off Somalia

[unhappycamper]

Sailors board the N. Korean cargo ship on Tuesday


Navy aids 2 hijacked cargo ships off Somalia
By Edward Harris - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Oct 31, 2007 18:13:23 EDT

NAIROBI, Kenya — The U.S. military has stepped up activities in the pirate-infested waters off Somalia, going to the aid of hijacked cargo ships twice this week. American medics treated wounded North Korean sailors on one vessel, and the Navy was tracking another after destroying two pirate skiffs lashed alongside.

Somalia, on the eastern rim of the Horn of Africa, has had no functioning government since slipping into chaos in 1991 at the beginning of its long civil war. Its waters are among the most pirate-infested anywhere, with more than two dozen ship hijackings this year.

Boats carrying pirates frequently cast off from Somalia’s long, arrowhead-shaped shoreline, heading to busy shipping lanes to take over container ships and seize their cargo and crew.

The U.S. military acted on tips and distress calls to help two cargo ships hijacked since Sunday, including the North Korean vessel whose 22-member crew fought off the pirates in a bloody battle. At least one pirate died and three North Koreans were wounded.

U.S. sailors boarded the Dai Hong Dan on Tuesday at its invitation to treat the injured.

U.S. military officials said long-standing tradition on the high seas dictates help for any sailor in distress, regardless of their nationality or their vessel’s home port.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/10/ap_pirates_071030/



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