20100416
inform

A US naval destroyer thwarted an attempt by suspected Somali pirates to seize a Thai-flagged ship in the Gulf of Aden on Friday, the multinational anti-piracy task force said.

The bulk carrier MV Thor Traveler came under attack in the early hours by a skiff with seven suspected pirates who fired on it for 10 minutes with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, a statement said.

A distress call was answered by the USS Farragut, whose helicopter "located the suspected pirate skiff as it was attempting to escape. The helicopter used spotlights and smoke floats to warn the skiff to stop and witnessed the skiff throw items overboard."

It said a boarding team confiscated further "pirate paraphernalia," and that the skiff was instructed to head back to the Somali coast.

The Farragut is the flagship of the task force, which was established in January 2009 to counter piracy and which patrols more than 2.5 million square miles (6.5 million square kilometres) in the Gulf of Aden and off the east coast of Somalia.