Norfolk-based cargo ship dodges pirates off Somalia

The Maersk Virginia, a U.S.-flagged container ship owned by Maersk Line Ltd. of Norfolk, evaded an advancing pirate skiff in the Gulf of Aden on Friday after Canadian and Italian navy vessels launched helicopters to ward off an attack.

The pirate ship came within three-quarters of a mile of the 950-foot Maersk Virginia before it turned away, said B.J. Talley, a spokesman in Maersk's Arlington office. The pirates did not shoot at the Maersk but had attacked another ship in the area earlier, he said.

A team from the Italian warship Maestrale boarded the pirate skiff, arrested nine people and was detaining them on the Maestrale for questioning, the European Union Maritime Security Centre reported.

The incident occurred late Friday morning about 70 miles south of Yemen, Talley said.

"It was not a long event," he said. "It was about an hour or two."

Afterward, the Maersk Virginia continued on its voyage to Salalah, Oman, Talley said. Its 19 crew members, all U.S. citizens, are safe.

The incident occurred less than two months after a lengthier and more perilous pirate attack on another U.S.-flagged Maersk ship southeast of Somalia.

On April 8, pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama, eventually leaving the ship with its captain, Richard Phillips, as hostage.

The five-day drama ended when one pirate surrendered and Navy SEALs aboard the destroyer Bainbridge - which is homeported in Norfolk - shot dead three remaining pirates who had pointed their guns at Phillips.

This is what happened Friday, according to reports from Maersk, the European Union Maritime Security Centre, Canadian Expeditionary Force Command Headquarters and several news agencies:

The pirate ship first launched rocket-propelled grenades at a ship called the Maria K. The European Union said the ship was Greek-owned. CBS News described the Maria K as "a Lebanese-flagged cargo ship."

The Maria K issued a distress signal, and the Canadian warship Winnipeg, about 60 miles away, launched a helicopter to foil the attack.

The pirates then abandoned the Maria K and bore down on the Maersk Virginia, which had been warned by the Maria K.

The Maersk Virginia "increased speed to more than 21 knots, began evasive maneuvers, mustered according to the vessel's security plan and contacted authorities," the company said in a news release. Talley declined to provide more details.

The Italian n avy's Maestrale also had received a distress signal from the Maria K and launched a helicopter. By the time it arrived, the pirates were chasing the Maersk Virginia, Bloomberg News said. The Maestrale helicopter fired warning shots at the pirate ship, which halted its pursuit of the Maersk.

CBS reported that the pirates threw their weapons overboard before a team from the Mae-strale boarded the ship and arrested the nine suspected pirates.

Unlike during last month's attack, which commanded worldwide attention, Maersk on Friday took a muted approach, releasing a five-paragraph statement and forgoing news conferences.

"Basically, what we're calling it is an incident," Talley said in a phone interview Friday. "There was no contact made between the craft and our vessel. We don't have enough information before the incident was ended to really discern intent."

Maersk's president and chief executive officer, John Reinhart, was traveling Friday and unavailable for comment, Talley said.

Maersk is owned by the Danish container shipping and oil group A.P. Moller-Maersk. The Maersk Virginia was delivered in 2002. It can carry up to 4,300 20-foot cargo containers.

Maersk operates its own fleet of about 31 U.S.-flagged commercial vessels and an additional 20 or so U.S. government-owned ships.

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com