Naval Force Seizes 9 Pirates In Gulf Of Aden

Personnel from the U.S. missile cruiser Vella Gulf detained the nine after a helicopter fired warning shots to prevent them from fleeing.

A multinational naval force seized nine suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday after receiving a distress call from an Indian merchant vessel, the U.S. Navy said.

The task force has now detained 16 pirate suspects in two days -- its first such actions against those behind a spate of ship hijacks that has raked in tens of millions of dollars in ransom payments and driven up insurance costs.

Personnel from the U.S. guided missile cruiser Vella Gulf detained the nine after a helicopter fired warning shots to prevent them from fleeing, the Navy said.

The Gulf of Aden runs between Somalia and Yemen and provides a gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, connecting Europe to Asia. Piracy has become a lucrative industry in Somalia, exploiting chaos and instability in the Horn of Africa country.

The naval task force currently consists of several U.S. and British ships. The U.S. State Department in January signed an agreement with Kenya on trying suspected pirates, allowing the U.S. Navy to begin taking them into custody on the high seas.