Captains,
U.S. Marines captured 9 pirates and rescued 11 crew of the M/V Magellan Star near Yemen last week - the first such rescue since Captain Phillips was rescued from his lifeboat during the M/V Maersk Alabama pirate attack over a year ago. No shots were fired this time. A Coast Guard law enforcement detachment assisted two Maritime Raid Force teams operating from the USS Dubuque and USS Princeton which were patrolling in the Gulf of Aden with the multi-national Combined Task Force 151.
The pirates were armed and resistant, but the M/V Magellan Star crew was well protected in a "safe room" - a key fact for the the U.S. Marines' chain of command. Prosecutorial evidence collected by the Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment and Naval Criminal Investigation Service will be used to bring the pirates to justice as soon as jurisdiction is established in an appropriate court.
RADM W
Marines seize ship from pirates
Marines in inflatable boats approach the Magellan Star to take the container ship back from Somali pirates who had commandeered it.(U.s. Navy)
By Craig Whitlock
Friday, September 10, 2010U.S. Marines rescued a hijacked German-owned cargo ship off the coast of Yemen on Thursday, boarding the vessel as dawn broke and apprehending nine pirates without firing a shot.
Two dozen Marine commandos took control of the Magellan Star, a container ship en route from Spain to Vietnam, by swarming the decks and surrounding the armed pirates before they had time to react, U.S. military officials said. The pirates, all Somali nationals, will remain in custody of the U.S. Navy until officials can decide whether they should be prosecuted or released.
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