Pirates Seize 16 More Hostages: Shots Fired at US Navy

Halyburton: Missile Frigate/Helicopter Pad

It goes to show that these are simple bands of pirates, but a fairly organized network of criminals. Several pirates boats went out to the life raft but were thwarted in the attempt. By the way don't tell the left the Halyburton is there or they might call for withdrawal. In addition Portugal has joined the United States along with Japanese, Turkish, Danish and several other nations in combating pirates. A good question is what do we do with captured pirates? Well there is a regional agreement between African and Arab states on charging pirates and several pirates we captured last year so we would probably turn them over to a local government. For a break down of piracy and its causes check here.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pirates holding a German cargo ship returned to port Saturday after failing to reach a lifeboat containing four pirates and their American hostage, a local journalist told CNN.

The German ship Hansa Stavanger was among several hijacked vessels that pirates were using to reach the lifeboat some 300 miles off the Somali coast, a Somali journalist told CNN.

The ship had set sail to help the pirates holding Capt. Richard Phillips, but turned back because of the U.S. naval presence, the journalist said. The Hansa Stavanger is now at the Somali port of Eyl, the journalist said.The Hansa Stavanger, with a crew of 24, was hijacked April 4 off the Somali coast.

Prayers for the Captain.

Update VIA HA:

NAIROBI, April 11 (Reuters) - Pirates seized a U.S.-owned and Italian-flagged tugboat with 16 crew on Saturday in the latest hijacking in the busy Gulf of Aden waterway, a regional maritime group said. Andrew Mwangura, of the Mombasa-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, said the crew were believed to be unharmed on the tugboat, which he added was operated from the United Arab Emirates. He said the tugboat was towing two barges at the time of capture but there were no details on their cargo. "This incident shows the pirates are becoming more daring and violent," Mwangura told Reuters by phone. NATO alliance officials on board the Portuguese warship NRB Corte-Real, which is patrolling the Gulf of Aden, said a distress call came from the MV Buccaneer tugboat but communications were lost six minutes later.

Getting Ugly:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pirates off the eastern coast of Africa fired on U.S. sailors Saturday as they tried to reach the lifeboat where an American captain is being held, a U.S. official familiar with the situation told CNN.

The gunfire forced the sailors, who did not return fire, back to the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge, the official said.

Capt. Richard Phillips reportedly offered himself as a hostage to the pirates during an attack Wednesday on the U.S.-flagged container ship Maersk Alabama in the Indian Ocean.

The Alabama was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, with a cargo of food aid when it was hijacked about 350 miles off the Somalia coast.

Why didn't the sailors shoot back?