Action of 18 March 2006

Action of 18 March 2006
Action of 18 March 2006
Part of Piracy in Somalia, Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa
Pirate vessel burning (Center).
Pirate vessel burning after engaging US forces
Date 18 March 2006
Location 25 nautical miles (46 km) off the coast of Somalia
Result United States victory
Belligerents
 United States Somali Pirates
Commanders and leaders
Naval Jack of the United States.svg Robert Daniel Randall Jr.
Naval Jack of the United States.svg James Yohe
unknown
Strength
1 cruiser
1 destroyer
3 skiffs
Casualties and losses
1 cruiser superficially damaged 1 skiff detroyed
2 skiffs captured
1+ killed
5 wounded
12 captured
USS Gonzalez

The Action of 18 March 2006 occurred when two United States naval vessels were attacked by pirates. The U.S. ships were part of Combined Task Force 150.

Contents

Background

By 2006 the lack of any government-controlled naval authority along the Somali coast was taking its toll. Pirate gangs controlled by local warlords started to capture passing merchant ships in an attempt to gain funding by ransoming the ships and their crews. As the raids became successful, the pirates became bolder. They began seizing UN aid ships, and even attacked a cruise liner attempting to capture it for ransom. The U.S. and Coalition vessels from Combined Task Force 150 began actively pursuing pirate vessels in an attempt to deter the attacks.

The battle

On 18 March the destroyer USS Gonzalez intercepted a suspicious ship, a large diesel skiff towing two small gasoline-powered "attack" skiffs 25 nautical miles (46 km) off the Somali coast.[1][2] USS Gonzalez first noticed the common pirate profile of a diesel boat towing smaller skiffs and, with USS Cape St. George closing from 40 miles away, trailed the suspects until dawn.[3] Shortly before sunrise, USS Cape St. George and USS Gonzalez each sent two rigid-hulled inflatable boats with specially trained boarding teams to investigate.[3] The boats' boarding attempt was aborted when the pirates opened fire on them from extremely short range, and they returned fire and withdrew.

The pirates chased the boarding team, then opened fire upon the Navy ships with RPGs and other small arms.[3] Too close for major weapon systems, the two American ships returned fire with small caliber guns.[1][2] The larger pirate skiff was soon set on fire by a 25MM tracer round fired from the USS "Cape St. George" hitting and setting ablaze a 55-gallon fuel drum, and burned to the waterline.[3] The two small skiffs were engaged and surrendered to USS Cape St. George upon seeing the larger skiff with all their fuel in flames.[3] By the time the action was over at least one pirate was killed (only one body was recovered from one of the remaining small skiffs), and 12 (including 5 wounded) pirates were captured.[4] A spokesman for the Somali pirate militia in Hardhere claimed there were 27 pirates that had gone to sea to act as "coastguardsmen" for the largely lawless state.[3] Cape St. George received minor superficial damage but no US forces were injured.[1][2][4]

Aftermath

After the action was over a Dutch fast combat support ship, the HNLMS Amsterdam, provided medical assistance to the wounded and the two US ships continued on their mission.[1][2] The US Government chose not to prosecute the captured men for piracy, and repatriated them over a period of several months, some requiring advanced medical care aboard US and Coalition warships due to the injuries they received during the action.[5]

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • March 2006 — Current events portal March 2006 is the third month of that year. It began on a Wednesday and 31 days later, ended on a Friday. < …   Wikipedia

  • March 2006 in Africa — Africa portal < March 2006 > S …   Wikipedia

  • March 2006 in video gaming — Current CVG Events …   Wikipedia

  • March 2006 in rail transport — 2005, 2006, 2007 2005 in rail transport 2006 in rail transport 2007 in rail transport This article lists events related to rail transport that occurred in March 2006. Contents 1 Events …   Wikipedia

  • Action of 3 June 2007 — Part of the Operation Enduring Freedom Horn of Africa Date 3 June 2007 Location off Somalia coast Resul …   Wikipedia

  • Action of 28 October 2007 — Part of the Operation Enduring Freedom Horn of Africa Skiff burning after taking 25 mm …   Wikipedia

  • Action of 1 April 2010 — Part of Piracy in Somalia, Operation Ocean Shield, Operation Enduring Freedom Horn of Africa …   Wikipedia

  • Deaths in March 2006 — Deaths in 2006 : ← January February March April May June July August September October November December → The following is a list of notable deaths in March 2006. March 2006 31 George L. Brown, 79, former Lieutenant Governor of Colorado,… …   Wikipedia

  • Action of 11 November 2008 — November 11, 2008, incident off Somalia Part of the Operation Enduring Freedom Horn of Africa …   Wikipedia

  • Action on Smoking and Health — (ASH) is a pressure group which seeks to publicise the health risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaigns for greater restrictions thereon. [ [http://www.patient.co.uk/showdoc/26738692/ ASH Action on Smoking and Health ] ] [… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”