Gator gets some against Somali pirates

[GreatAmerican]

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/06/navy_carterhall_pirates_070605w/

The dock landing ship Carter Hall shot flares, fired warning bursts and unleashed a volley that set fire to three skiffs towed behind a hijacked Danish cargo ship off Somalia on Tuesday, but it could not prevent the freighter from slipping out of international waters and toward a known pirate camp, the Navy said.

The Danica White, a Danish-flagged merchant vessel with a crew of five, was hijacked by pirates early Saturday in view of a French warship that could not cross into Somali territorial waters to offer help. The Danica White never radioed for assistance, but the Carter Hall called to ask if it needed help, said Lt. John Gay, a spokesman with Navy Forces Central Command in Bahrain....

The dock landing ship Carter Hall fired warning shots June 5 on a cargo ship seized by pirates and also on small pirate boats, the Navy said, as a rash of lawlessness flared up on the Horn of Africa. The ship is shown here during vertical replenishment operations in 2006.

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