Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By staff writers From: NewsCoreThe men were captured on April 1 after they decided to target the USS Nicholas, believing it was a merchant ship, as the vessel was operating west of the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean. The USS Nicholas is an Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate homeported in Norfolk, according to
the Justice Department.
Three of the men - Mohammed Modin Hasan, Gabul Abdullahi Ali and Abdi Wali Dire - used a small vessel to launch the attack, firing assault weapons and a rocket propelled grenade.
The three men - along with Abdi Mohammed Gurewardher and Abdi Mohammed Umar, who were aboard a larger supply vessel - were detained by the sailors aboard the USS Nicholas and later brought to the US.
The charges levelled against the men included piracy, attack to plunder a vessel and assault with a dangerous weapon in the special maritime jurisdiction.
The men face a mandatory sentence of life in prison when they are sentenced March 14, 2011.
"Today marks the first conviction of piracy in more than 190 years," US lawyer Neil MacBride said in a statement after the men were convicted.
"Modern-day pirates not only threaten human lives but also disrupt international commerce by extorting hundreds of millions of dollars in ransom payments.
"Today's conviction demonstrates that armed attacks on US-flagged vessels are crimes against the international community and that pirates will face severe consequences in US courts."
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Source: DTN News / Reuters
The European naval force, EU Navfor, said the vessel had a crew of 17, including a German master, two Ukrainians and 14 Filipinos, and was seized 50 miles (80 kms) from Mombasa.
"She was taken at 1730 local time. She was sailing empty after discharging her LPG cargo at the Shimanzi oil terminal in Mombasa," Mwangura told Reuters.
A pirate who identified himself as Hassan told Reuters by telephone that the tanker was now heading for Garad, a pirate base on the coast of central Somalia.
A lack of effective central government in the lawless Horn of Africa nation has allowed piracy to flourish off its shores. Somali pirates are holding 19 vessels with 428 hostages. Typically they earn a ransom for their release.
The vessel has a deadweight of 5,076 tonnes.
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