Mike Mount
CNN Senior Pentagon Producer

A U.S. Navy ship protecting commercial shipping from pirates seized about four tons of hashish being transported aboard a boat off the Horn of Africa last week, according to a U.S. Navy statement released Tuesday.

The ship, the guided missile cruiser USS Anzio, stopped a small boat known as a skiff in the Gulf of Aden because of suspicions it was a pirate boat, according to the Navy’s Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain.

The Anzio is part of the coalition efforts in the waters off Somalia to reduce pirate’s attacks.

The waters are a major transit point for commercial shipping into and out of the Red Sea and are known for the incredible piracy problems from Somalia.

A U.S. Navy boarding team discovered the drugs on the small boat on October 15th in the waters of the Gulf of Aden about 170 miles southwest of Salalah, Oman, according to the U.S. Navy statement.

Navy officials said the area is also a very popular drug smuggling route with money from the sales possibly ending up in the hands of terrorists in Afghanistan.

According to the Navy statement the haul was worth and estimated $28 million U.S. dollars. The Navy boarding team destroyed the stash by dumping into the ocean, according to the statement.

The Maersk Alabama was targeted in an April hijacking that ended with Navy snipers killing three pirates.

Mike Mount
CNN Senior Pentagon Producer

Pirates holding a Taiwanese-flagged ship off the coast of Somalia fired on a U.S. Navy helicopter Wednesday during a patrol flight to monitor the ship, according to a U.S. Navy statement.

The helicopter was not struck and all crew members were safe after the incident, the statement said.

The incident highlights the piracy problem still ongoing in that region even as U.S. and coalition ships patrol the waters off the coast of that country in a counter-piracy mission.

The M/V Win Far has been held by Somali pirates since it was hijacked on April 6th. Navy officials said the ship is being used as a “mother ship,” or a floating base, to launch attacks on other ships, including the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, according to Navy officials.

According to the Navy statement, the flight crew on the helicopter, “noticed activity” on the ship but could not determine if the pirates had fired on the SH-60 helicopter.

When the helicopter returned to the USS Chancellorsville a review of the helicopters infrared camera showed the helicopter was fired on.

The Navy helicopter did not return fire during the patrol, according to the statement.

Since the start of the year dozens of ships have been attacked or hijacked, according to statistics from the International Maritime Bureau, an organization that monitors piracy around the world.

The Dutch frigate De Zeven Provincien tracked seven pirates Saturday back to their mother ship.

Chris Lawrence
CNN Pentagon Correspondent

A NATO ship receives a distress call Saturday: a Norwegian merchant ship is under attack by pirates. The NATO ship veers off, racing to the rescue. The Canadian NATO ship fires several warning shots, which cause the pirates to break off the attack and sail away. But NATO tracks down the pirates, boards their boat and finds several rounds of ammunition onboard. The NATO crew tosses their guns, ladders and scaling equipment overboard. They question the pirates and then …arrest them? No. Hand them over to a court? No. They let them go. Why? Because there is no formal procedure for NATO forces to follow once they’re actually captured pirates. NATO leaves it up to each individual country, and sometimes those nations don’t even allow crews to detain the pirates they catch. The same day that incident happened, another NATO ship operated by the Dutch intercepted pirates. The Dutch found weapons and freed 13 hostages – then let the pirates go free.

After meeting with the Dutch Foreign Minister, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said releasing the pirates sends the wrong message. “The minister and I agreed we will take this to NATO. If the Dutch Navy had been operating under the EU, they could have turned the pirates over for trial. NATO has not provided the authority to do that.” Clinton also said there needs to be better coordination between all the nations and organizations that patrol the Somali coastline. Right now whether a pirate stays in custody or gets let go on the spot – entirely depends on which ship grabbed him.

Sean Connaughton is a former Coast Guard officer, and President Bush’s top maritime official. He says crews are catching pirates red-handed, then looking back to their home countries half-a-world away for guidance on what to do with them. Connaughton says, “You can’t just take nice neat laws that work perfectly well in the streets of Washington or Ottawa – and apply them off the coast of Somalia.” Connaughton says there have to be universal rules of engagement. And Secretary Clinton is pushing for that change – meaning every ship …no matter if they’re patrolling for the EU, NATO or a task force …would have the authority to arrest pirates and hand them over for trial. Otherwise, Connaughton says, “The pirates are going to quickly realize most Navies won’t take any action against them – and they’re just going to continue to escalate and unfold.”

Another issue: finding the right ships to go after pirates. The USS Bainbridge is armed with radar, heavy guns and nearly 100 missiles. Thing is, it’s often matched against a skiff or dinghy – with a few pirates onboard armed with rifles. Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants lots more smaller, faster cats chasing the mice – not a few 9,000-ton Destroyers lumbering through the Indian Ocean. Gates is pushing to build 55 more Littoral Combat Ships …smaller, speedier ships that can navigate through shallow waters. At $500-600 million each, the LCS is also a lot cheaper than a guided missile cruiser.

CNN's Christiane Amanpour asks Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen about pirates in Somalia.

Program note: Tune in tonight to watch Tom Foreman's special report on AC 360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Capt. Richard Phillips, right, stands with U.S. Navy Cmdr. Frank Castellano after Phillips' rescue Sunday.

The Daily Beast

The Navy SEALS are the heroes of the hour after rescuing Capt. Richard Phillips from Somali pirates. But the operation was just the latest in a storied history of hostage rescues carried out by elite special forces around the globe. THE DAILY BEAST brings you six of the most daring commando missions of all time.

Read more...

Pirates hijacked the American ship Maersk Alabama last week.

Shaun Assael
The Daily Beast

Somali pirates were just paid $3.5 million—the largest ransom ever—for the release of a ship off East Africa. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Beast, negotiator Andrew Mwangura reveals the secrets of the murderers he does business with.

Andrew Mwangura has the underground world of African piracy wired. Somali pirates trust him. Warlords respect him. And human-rights activists admire him for putting his neck on the line to keep sailors safe on the lawless high seas. “Andrew gets vital first-hand intelligence,” says Cyrus Mody, who runs the London-based Maritime Bureau of the International Chamber of Commerce. “If a ship is running low on food or there’s been some disaster, he often knows about it first.”

Unfortunately for Mwangura, an ex-journalist who lives in a shack without running water on the beach in Mombasa, the Kenyan government doesn’t see him as a hero. On February 4, prosecutors put the 45-year-old Mwangura on trial for exposing the secret of a Ukrainian freighter that was hijacked last fall while carrying $30 million in Russian arms. Although the shipment was part of a secret, back-channel deal to arm Sudan in violation of a United Nations arms embargo, Mwangura is the one accused of breaking the law. The government has charged him with releasing “alarming information.” Says the activist, “They have no evidence. What I said was the truth.”

Read more...

The same tactic that defeated the German U-boats could work today.

Peter D. Zimmerman
The Wall Street Journal

Piracy never really disappeared; it plagues maritime commerce as much today as it did in the Caribbean in the 18th century and on the Barbary Coast in the 19th century. But until recently, modern-day pirates mostly rustled some cargo and let their captives continue, leaving the crew unharmed.

That's changed. Pirates in the waters off Somalia, and from the Gulf of Aden to south of the equator, are no longer simply interested in seizing ships and cargo. Now they are out for the multimillion dollar ransoms paid by ship operators to rescue their crews. They've come up with a good business model, too, with a low cost of entry: a fishing trawler to serve as a mother ship, a few high-speed inflatable boats, weapons and crews to seize their targets. Very few of these thieves have paid for their crimes despite the presence of a small fleet of warships in the region. One way to deal with the threat is to revive convoys.

Read more...

Ed Rollins
CNN Contributor

A president makes many decisions, but none is more important than those he makes as commander in chief. Committing young men and women to war zones where their lives are at risk is a decision that can't be easily reversed, and the consequences can be fatal.

The second type of difficult decision a president faces is setting the rules of engagement; allowing American troops to do their job even if that means taking the life of the enemy.

Ronald Reagan, a president I served, was beloved by the American military. He rebuilt a military crippled by the nightmare of Vietnam. After the humiliating evacuation from that costly war, we had planes that couldn't fly and ships that couldn't sail due to missing parts and deferred maintenance.

Read More...

The wife of the captain held hostage by pirates makes a statement about her husband's release.

Editor's note: CNN Contributor Bob Greene is a bestselling author whose forthcoming book is "Late Edition: A Love Story."

By Bob Greene
CNN Contributor

There is a beach in Coronado, California, just across the bridge from San Diego. It offers a beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean, which is why it attracts tourists who are drawn to the sun.

I thought about that beach yesterday, when the news from the Indian Ocean near the Horn of Africa was flashed around the world - the news that the captain of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama had been rescued from Somali pirates by U.S. forces operating off the USS Bainbridge.

That beach in California seems quite placid, even sedate. The historic, red-gabled Hotel del Coronado sits upon it - the place where the Marilyn Monroe-Jack Lemmon-Tony Curtis movie "Some Like It Hot" was filmed. The feeling of the place is one of genteel manners, of delicate tradition. You almost expect to see guests carrying parasols and making reservations to play croquet.

Read more...

CNN's Barbara Starr has details of the U.S. Navy's rescue of an American hostage from armed pirates.

Ken Robinson
Terrorism and national security analyst

The United States government conducted the “mother of all” Secure Video Teleconferences (SVTC) on Thursday night regarding the piracy hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia.

What’s the difference between this week’s seized vessel and any other over the past year?

A big one!

The pirates over-reached, and took as “U.S. flagged vessel” (MV Alabama), triggering a challenge of doctrine as old as the republic, Freedom of Navigation.

The Pirates also didn’t count on the crew being populated by very angry, determined ex-Marines, who fought back, and quickly retook their ship.

Currently the problem is one of the laws of the sea, and the laws of nature.

Three of the pirates made off in a life vessel, intended for deep water, not the shallow and treacherous waters of the Somali coast. The boat is currently out of fuel, and drifting. A quick glance at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) web site will tell you that the boat won’t make it to shore, where according to my sources, no one wants the problems of an American hostage, anyway.

It is listing, heading north.

Some entrepreneur pirate friends are reported to be attempting a link up at sea, with a previously captured German vessel. The thinking being, bring the life boat pirates on the larger vessel, and create a bigger international problem, for all concerned.

What is all this dramas about? Money. Somalia is a failed state. Its waters are predatorily. International shipping has regarded the piracy, and the ransom they demand as part of the cost of doing business, much like our own country did, under President Thomas Jefferson.

Until one day, enough was enough. Jefferson commissioned new Navel ships, armed them, and sent them half way around the earth to crush the Barbary pirates.

The Navy and Marine Corps did its job, and our maritime doctrine of freedom of navigation was clear to the world.

Now, the USS Bainbridge (DDG-96), a guided-missile destroyer, is on station, watching the lifeboat, while a Navy P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft fly’s, and listens, from above.

An entire host of counter-terrorism units including elite U.S. Navy Seals, wait for their orders.

The issue is larger than the rescue of an American citizen. It’s a policy decision, on how to deal with a failed state that humbled the US previously (Black Hawk Down), and uncooperative International shipping owners, and their Insurance providers, who refuse on-board security, because of the price jump in annual premiums.

To date, the pirates have not killed hostages, and have returned vessels, once ransoms are paid.

I am told that these pirates had modified their demand to simply a safe passage home. The U.S., will likely provide humanitarian relief (water, food, medical supplies), but don’t expect any fuel.

Keep in mind; there is a difference between having the capability to launch a rescue, and it being prudent to do so. Sometimes the treatment can be worse than the cure. An invasion of Puntland (where the pirates have safe haven) is unthinkable.

Counter-terror professionals are involved, lives are at stake, and our national patients is required, while a new administrations deals simultaneously with a crisis, and a policy decision whose implications, like Jefferson’s may ripple well into the next hundred years.

Ken Robinson is a terrorism and national security analyst who has conducted intelligence operations in Somalia and other parts of the world.

Program Note: Tune in tonight for Randi Kaye's full report on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama is being held by pirates on a lifeboat off Somalia.

Randi Kaye
AC360° Correspondent

Picture this: Four ships held hostage by pirates in a showdown with at least two US warships, with Captain Richard Phillips in a tiny lifeboat caught in the middle, literally. We are very likely heading for a showdown smack in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

The pirates want to hold onto Captain Phillips for ransom so here’s how they plan to pull it off. It’s pretty bold.

They are planning to bring as many as four ships, currently being held hostage, back out into the Indian Ocean. We know one is a German ship. The pirates are not taking any risks by heading out in their little skiffs this time. They are using the big ships and they will be bringing along with them at least 50 hostages they are currently holding.

These poor folks will essentially be used as human shields to try and keep the U.S. warships from firing on the pirates.

Their goal seems to be to get Captain Phillips onto one of the other ships with hostages and then bring him back to the pirate base in Somalia, which would likely be the port town of Eyl.

I spoke with a former hostage negotiator who says there is “zero chance” the Navy will let these pirates take an American hostage back to Somalia with them.

So how will they prevent it? Some say the U.S. Navy should just blow them out of the water, but that would likely mean hostages would die.

So what are the options?

This could be one heck of a showdown on the high seas this weekend…

Capt. Richard Phillips of the Maersk Alabama is being held by pirates on a lifeboat off Somalia.

Mike Mount
CNN Pentagon Producer

The U.S. military believes a number of pirates in hijacked vessels are looking to find and help the pirates holding Richard Phillips, captain of the hijacked Maersk Alabama, an official with knowledge of the situation tells CNN. The military believes their intention is to assist the pirates in the lifeboat.

The military is hearing this from audio intercepts.

Pirates fired shots when Phillips jumped in the water this morning, trying unsuccessfully to escape. And one pirate jumped into the water to get their hostage back.

Phillips was seen walking around inside the covered lifeboat after his escape attempt.

One of the pirated ships heading to the scene is the German cargo ship Hansa Stavanger, seized April 4th off the east coast of Somalia. The ship's crew of 24 includes five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians, two Filipinos and 12 from Tuvalu.

Attackers hijacked the Maersk Alabama, shown here, formerly known as the Alva Maersk.

David McKenzie
CNN Africa Correspondent

I have been covering Somali piracy for over a year, sailed with the USS Shoup patrolling the waters off Somalia searching for bands of marauders, and interviewed merchant sailors who had been held for months.

But nothing compares to this.

Pirates brazenly attacking a giant US flagged container ship off the coast of Somalia carrying food aid. In the ensuing fight the crew took back the ship, but the pirates made off with their captain in a lifeboat.

In his desperation to escape from his Somali Pirate captors, Captain Richard Phillips tried to escape from pirates on Thursday night by diving off the lifeboat where he was being held to swimming for the nearby US warship, said U.S. officials. The pirates hauled him back.

It was a brave attempt to get loose from his captors who are now trying to spirit him to the lawless Somali shore, according to a source well-connected to the Somali pirate scourge.

“The pirates have at least three hijacked boats heading towards the scene, ”the source told me, “that means that as many as four hijacked vessels carrying more than 50 hostages are heading towards the lifeboat.”

The pirates’ strategy is to use these boats as a human shield and to provide cover for dash to the mainland, he said.

Piracy has been around the years, but this incident raised the stakes. First, the pirates took on an American flagged ship with American sailors in a region patrolled predominately by US warships. Second, there is a new administration in charge in Washington and they can’t be seen as doing nothing. Though President Obama has so far refused to comment.

Until now, nothing is precisely what the Navy has been doing once ships or individuals are taken hostage by pirates. They feel it is the safest option.

The coalition Navy that takes on pirates-dubbed CTF-151-has a strict policy. If a boat is under attack and they are in the vicinity then they will intervene. If pirates successfully take a ship then they will ‘observe’ and ‘monitor’ the boat, but they will not intervene. There is too much risk to the hostages, they say. In ships with particularly precious cargo, such as the MV Faina, a hijacked boat packed with weapons, they will encircle the ship to ensure that the cargo doesn’t get to the lawless mainland of Somalia.

Hostage situations can be dangerous. In a rescue operation of a hijacked yacht today off the Somali coast, a French hostage and two pirates died, according to the French president’s office. Four hostages were freed, including one child. The French military carried out the operation.

I have witnessed the French forces completing a classified drill to free hostages off the coast of Djibouti. And though their operations and training are impressive, anything can go wrong out at sea.

There have also been some reporting that suggests that it can be legally complicated taking on a ship. This is not the case. Piracy is covered by international law and well worn precedent. The act of piracy is considered a “crime against humanity” and any military vessel can take on pirates on a ship they have hijacked and they can be tried in any court “in good standing”. Both America and the UK have signed agreements to have pirates tried in Kenyan courts.

There is also several UN security council resolutions that allow for the coalition forces to strike against pirates both in international and Somali waters and a special resolution allowing them to follow pirates “in hot pursuit” onto the mainland.

But most analysts feel that they are unlikely to do so. The “black hawk down” incident of the early nineties has made western forces very wary of putting boots on the ground in Somalia. And the pirates know this. They will try to get Captain Phillips to shore as soon as possible. Barring this, they could transfer him to another ship with hostages, further complicating the possibilities for the FBI or the US Navy.

Pirates are after one thing and one thing only: money. They haven’t generally harmed hostages-in fact there is a whole industry on the shores of Somalia to raise animals to feed hostages and keep them relatively healthy during long ransom negotiations. Money is usually paid by the shipping company and it can run into the millions of dollars.

And this should be a small comfort to the family of Richard Phillips and to the families of so many others held hostage off the coast of Somalia tonight.

But until ransoms stop, piracy will continue unabated.

French commandos last year training for operations against pirates.

CNN

A French hostage and two pirates died Friday in a rescue operation off Somalia's coastline, the French president's office in Paris said Friday.

Four hostages, including a child, were freed from the hijacked yacht after almost a week of captivity, Nicolas Sarkozy's office said.

The French military decided to move in when pirates refused their offers and increased threats against the hostages, it said.

The four adults and a child had been held aboard their yacht, the Tanit, since it was seized in the Gulf of Aden on Saturday, the president's statement said.

There has been a series of high-profile and increasingly sophisticated pirate attacks in recent months.

Keep Reading...

Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more on the situation on AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

Attackers hijacked the Maersk Alabama, shown here, formerly known as the Alva Maersk.

Chris Lawrence
CNN Pentagon Correspondent

The USS Bainbridge is “within a few hundred yards” of the lifeboat holding Richard Phillips, the kidnapped American captain of the Daemsk Alabama, a US defense official confirms.

The pirates have larger “mother ships” nearby. The Navy is aware of their locations and doing surveillance.

The USS Halyburton, a frigate with choppers and guided missiles, is also “in the area” now, which I took to mean it’s not right there on the scene but is in the general area.

The amphibious USS Boxer, which has choppers and a hospital unit, is still “a day or two away.”

Anderson talks to a security expert about the negotiation process underway for the U.S. captain's release from the pirates.

Attackers hijacked the Maersk Alabama, shown here, formerly known as the Alva Maersk.

Program note: Watch Randi Kaye’s full report tonight at 10p EST on Anderson Cooper 360.

Randi Kaye
AC360° Correspondent

So imagine how those pirates feel right about now…

They’re rocking about in the middle of the Indian Ocean trying to figure out how to hold onto their bounty - Captain Richard Phillips - and their lives.

Their own boat is sunk. They're stuck in a 28-foot enclosed lifeboat with a disabled engine. They have limited food and no fuel. And looming nearby is the massive USS Bainbridge, a Navy destroyer that at any moment, could pounce. Two more Navy ships are on the way, a frigate with guided missiles and an amphibious ship. And FBI negotiators are there.

Sure, these four pirates - these four men holding Captain Phillips - are armed with AK-47’s, but do they have anywhere to go?

All the Captain has is a radio, which was running out of juice, so the Navy dropped in some more batteries and limited supplies.

Oh by the way, did I mention the unmanned flying drones that are hovering above the lifeboat and sending pictures back to the Navy destroyer so they can see every move that is made!

If you were those pirates, what would you do at this point?

Two more Navy ships are on the way and will arrive within the next 24 hours. The re have been unconfirmed reports that more pirates are headed to the scene to help take on the U.S. Navy but you have to wonder how that would go down.

The captain’s family, understandably, is anxious about his safety but we’re told he has not been harmed.

What do you think the U.S. needs to do to get out of this mess?

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs gives details about the government's help with ship hijacking by pirates.