March 18, 2006 incident off Somalia
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| Action of March 18, 2006 | |||||||
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| Part of the Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa | |||||||
 Pirate vessel burning after engaging US Forces |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States Netherlands |
Somali Pirates | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 cruiser 1 destroyer |
1 armed trawler 2 skiffs |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 cruiser lightly damaged | 1 armed trawler severely damaged 1 killed 5 wounded 12 captured |
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On March 18, 2006, two United States naval vessels were attacked by pirates. The U.S. ships were part of Combined Task Force 150 led by Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Hank Ort.
[edit] Background
- See also: Piracy in Somalia
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 United Nations 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.
[edit] The Battle
On March 18 the USS Cape St. George and USS Gonzalez intercepted a suspicious vessel towing two skiffs some 25 nautical miles (46 km) off the Somali coast. The vessels sent two Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats to investigate. The boats' boarding attempt was repulsed by the pirates and they opened fire upon the capital ships with RPG's and other small arms. The two American ships returned fire with small caliber guns. The largest of the three pirate vessels was soon set on fire and burned to the waterline. By the time the action was over one pirate was killed, five wounded, and 12 (including the 5 wounded) were captured. USS Cape St. George received minor superficial damage but no US forces were injured. After the action was over a Dutch fast combat support ship HNLMS Amsterdam provided medical assistance to the wounded and the two US ships continued on their mission.
