Pirates fired small arms weapons at a US naval supply ship during a high-speed chase off the coast of Somalia, the US Navy said Thursday. USNS Lewis and Clark was chased for more than an hour Wednesday morning by two pirate skiffs off Somalia's eastern coast, the Bahrain-based Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement.
It said the pirates got within one nautical mile of the Lewis and Clark before its crew conducted "evasive manoeuvres and increased speed to elude the pirates." The security team on board had used a "long range acoustical device" to warn the approaching skiffs.
"Suspected pirates then fired small arms weapons from approximately two nautical miles toward Lewis and Clark, which fell one nautical mile short of the ship's stern," the statement said. The naval vessel increased its speed and the skiffs ceased their pursuit.
More than 30,000 vessels transit the pirates-infested Gulf of Aden annually. In 2009, there have been 97 attempted attacks on merchant vessels, 27 of which have been successful, the US Navy said. Pirates are currently holding at least 20 ships in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, together with more than 300 seamen.
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