US Navy Ships Disrupt Pirate Attack

Courtesy Photo | A small boat being towed by a suspected pirate mothership in the Arabian Sea is destroyed by USS Momsen, after the guided-missile destroyer received a distress call and disrupted an attack on a commercial oil tanker. Momsen and USS Bunker Hill came to the aid of the merchant vessel simultaneously in a coordinated rescue and assist effort. Momsen and Bunker Hill are deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations. (Photo by: Chief Petty Officer John Parkin)  

ARABIAN SEA, USAFRICOM, AT SEA

02.02.2011

Courtesy Story

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / U.S. 5th Fleet           

ARABIAN SEA - USS Momsen and USS Bunker Hill disrupted a pirate attack on Panamanian flagged merchant vessel Duqm, Feb. 2 in the Gulf of Oman.

While transiting in international waters, the merchant vessel reported that pirates were attempting to board the vessel. Momsen and Bunker Hill, which were in the vicinity, immediately responded to the Duqm's distress signal and caused two pirates skiffs alongside the vessel with ladders against its hull to flee the area.

Momsen and Bunker Hill tracked the skiffs movement and located the mothership that facilitated the attempted boarding of Duqm, towing the two empty skiffs. Consistent with the U.N. Security Council Resolutions on piracy and U.S. rules of engagement, Momsen destroyed the two skiffs to prevent their use for future attacks.

Momsen and Bunker Hill are deployed supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th fleet area of operations.

• Date Taken: 02.02.2011
• Date Posted: 02.04.2011 09:36
• Story ID: 64797
• Location: ARABIAN SEA, USAFRICOM, AT SEA