MV Magellan Star piracy interdiction

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, 2010

U.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.

CTF 151 counter piracy ops off Somalia

Captains,

The United Nations Security Council adopted aResolution 1897 (2009) extending for twelve months authorization for States and regional organizations cooperating with the Somali Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to enter Somalia's territorial waters and use all necessary means to fight piracy and armed robbery at sea off Somalia's coast. The resolution also invites States and regional organizations to conclude special agreements with countries willing to take custody of and to prosecute suspected pirates.

RDML W

GULF OF ADEN - Coast Guard MST3 Sean Eversole, a member of the Maritime Safety and Security Team out of Miami Fla., practices boarding procedures with the USS Chosin (CG 65) visit, board, search and seizure team Dec. 16, 2009, in the Gulf of Aden. Chosin is the flagship of Combined Joint Task Force 151, a multinational task force established to conduct counterpiracy operations off the coast of Somalia. (U.S. Navy photo/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Edgington)