thedrifter
04-12-09, 08:09 AM
Camp Pendleton Marines join Somali pirate standoff
Special to the Valley News
Sunday, April 12th, 2009.
Issue 15, Volume 9.
SAN DIEGO - Marines from Camp Pendleton have joined in the standoff with Somali pirates who are holding an American freighter captain hostage on a lifeboat off the Somali coast, it was reported today.
The USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship based in San Diego, joined the U.S. military assets in the Indian Ocean near the covered lifeboat that is out of gas and drifting about 30 miles off the Somali coast, the Orange County Register reported.
The Boxer gets some of its munitions from the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station and has Marines from Camp Pendleton aboard, some of whom are from Orange County, the newspaper reported.
The Somali pirates tried to hijack the American-flagged container ship MV Maersk Alabama on Wednesday. They were unsuccessful, but to save the crew and the boat, its captain, 53-year-old Richard Phillips of Vermont, let them take him hostage.
The freighter, carrying humanitarian aid, has arrived at its destination in Kenya.
There have been reports that talks were under way with an intermediary of the pirates, but there have also been reports that those talks have broken down. The pirates are reportedly seeking $2 million in ransom.
This morning, the pirates fired warning shots at a surveillance vessel from the USS Bainbridge, a destroyer in the same area as the Boxer. The Navy did not return fire, but determined the captain was unharmed, and the standoff continued tonight.
The 844-foot long Boxer, which is leading an international anti-piracy task force, is assisting the Bainbridge.
The Boxer is a small aircraft carrier that has more than 1,800 Marines aboard, mostly from Camp Pendleton, the Register reported.
According to the newspaper, the ship was involved in the Iraq War, and has Harrier attack planes, Super Cobra attack helicopters and Sea Sparrow missiles.
Ellie
Special to the Valley News
Sunday, April 12th, 2009.
Issue 15, Volume 9.
SAN DIEGO - Marines from Camp Pendleton have joined in the standoff with Somali pirates who are holding an American freighter captain hostage on a lifeboat off the Somali coast, it was reported today.
The USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship based in San Diego, joined the U.S. military assets in the Indian Ocean near the covered lifeboat that is out of gas and drifting about 30 miles off the Somali coast, the Orange County Register reported.
The Boxer gets some of its munitions from the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station and has Marines from Camp Pendleton aboard, some of whom are from Orange County, the newspaper reported.
The Somali pirates tried to hijack the American-flagged container ship MV Maersk Alabama on Wednesday. They were unsuccessful, but to save the crew and the boat, its captain, 53-year-old Richard Phillips of Vermont, let them take him hostage.
The freighter, carrying humanitarian aid, has arrived at its destination in Kenya.
There have been reports that talks were under way with an intermediary of the pirates, but there have also been reports that those talks have broken down. The pirates are reportedly seeking $2 million in ransom.
This morning, the pirates fired warning shots at a surveillance vessel from the USS Bainbridge, a destroyer in the same area as the Boxer. The Navy did not return fire, but determined the captain was unharmed, and the standoff continued tonight.
The 844-foot long Boxer, which is leading an international anti-piracy task force, is assisting the Bainbridge.
The Boxer is a small aircraft carrier that has more than 1,800 Marines aboard, mostly from Camp Pendleton, the Register reported.
According to the newspaper, the ship was involved in the Iraq War, and has Harrier attack planes, Super Cobra attack helicopters and Sea Sparrow missiles.
Ellie