音频下载[点击右键另存为]A U.S.-flagged container ship which was hijacked by Somali pirates seven months ago has been attacked again off the coast of Somalia. Pirates were unsuccessful in their second attempt to hijack the Maersk Alabama.
U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, says four pirates riding in a fast skiff came within 270 meters of the American-flagged container ship early Wednesday morning.
Maersk Alabama was about 965 kilometers off the northeast coast of Somalia and was steaming toward the Kenyan port city of Mombasa when it came under attack.
The U.S. Navy says the crew of
Maersk Alabama undertook evasive maneuvers and deployed long-range acoustical devices, which make noise painful to the human ear. The crew also responded with small-arms fire after pirates fired automatic weapons at the ship. The pirates abandoned the attack without causing injuries or damage to the vessel.
U.S. Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, issued a statement, praising
Maersk Alabama's owner and crew for following maritime industry's best practices, including having a security team on board to help prevent a hijacking.
In April, the 155-meter vessel made international headlines when it was seized by pirates who held captain Richard Phillips hostage at gunpoint for five days in a lifeboat. He was
