Pirate case: US Navy Lt testifies against Somalis

Grant said the US troops, who were responding to a hijacking report from the International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur, tracked down an Indian-based vessel that the suspected pirates had taken over and were using to attack other ships.

Days earlier, the Somalis used the hijacked ship in a failed attack on the MV Delta Ranger, a bulk carrier sailing under the flag of the Bahamas, when it was 320 km off the eastern coast of Somalia, Grant said. After tracking down and monitoring the ship overnight, US troops attempted to call over the radio and a loud speaker to the vessel, the Safina Al Bisaarat, but received no response, Grant said.

‘‘Our ship then fired warning shots and the vessel stopped but there was still no response from the crew inside,’’ he said. The ship’s captive crew members later displayed signs indicating a radio frequency which they would use to communicate. Another had the word ‘‘help’’ written on it, Grant said.

The sailors then asked the Somalis to surrender, and the 10 suspected pirates and 16 crew members boarded the US ship. The ship’s Indian captain told the US sailors that his vessel had been hijacked two days after leaving the Somali port of Kismayo en route to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Grant said. US sailors who searched the ship found an AK-47 assault rifle, he said.

Piracy is rampant off the coast of Somalia, which has no effective government of its own to respond.