WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- A U.S. Navy ship has captured a suspected pirate vessel in the Indian Ocean about 54 miles off the coast of Somalia.
The U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill captured the vessel, which U.S. Navy officials described as "an Indian-flagged bulk carrier," on Jan. 21, about six days after the crew claimed they had been hijacked," Navy Cmdr. Jeff Breslau, a public affairs officer with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said.
The Churchill is a guided missile destroyer attached to the U.S. 5th Fleet and is part of a multinational task force patrolling the western Indian Ocean and Horn of Africa region. the American Forces Press Service reported Tuesday.
The Churchill and other naval forces located the suspected dhow and shadowed it through the night of Jan. 20-21. When the vessel refused to stop, the Churchill fired warning shots, which brought the pirates to a halt. It took a second warning shot to get the crew aboard the vessel to establish radio communication and begin obeying instructions to disembark onto small boats the vessel had in tow, AFPS said.
Sailors from the Churchill then boarded the pirated vessel, where they found a small-arms cache. Ten suspected pirates were detained and are still aboard U.S. ships. "An interagency and international process is under way to determine final disposition," Breslau said.
"Piracy is an issue off the coast of Somalia as well as in many parts of the world. It is an international problem that requires an international solution," Breslau said.
