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Pirates Fire RPGs At U.S. Ship Out Of Long Island

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Apr 15, 2009 6:23 am US/Eastern

Pirates Fire RPGs At U.S. Ship Out Of Long Island

Crew Of 20 Aboard Liberty Maritime's "Liberty Sun" Hide In Skin Of Vessel; Bandits Give Up And Drop Back

USS Bainbridge Converges On Site Of Incident

 CBS News Interactive: About Somalia
Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ― The pirates of Somalia are not rolling over. On Tuesday they attacked another U.S. flagged vessel as part of a wave of maritime violence, apparently sparked by the U.S. Navy's rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips.

The Liberty Sun came under rocket propelled grenade and small arms fire from pirates while en route to Kenya carrying a cargo of food supplies. There are roughly 20 Americans on board and we're told they retreated to the engine room.

The ship, owned by Liberty Maritime Corporation of Lake Success on Long Island, was apparently able to continue underway after the pirates gave up their pursuit. The dropped some five or six miles behind as U.S. Navy ships, including the USS Bainbridge steamed to the rescue.

This attack came on the heels of Sunday's final resolution of the Maersk Alabama incident in which Capt. Phillips was freed by Navy SEALS who killed his captors.

Since then Somali pirates have successfully seized four ships and taken 60 hostages. Experts on the chaotic conditions inside Somalia told CBS 2 HD their defiance is not unexpected.

"There is no government; there is no infrastructure. They have nothing to lose," Africa analyst Salim Amin said.

Liberty Maritime Corporation issued a statement Tuesday night:

"We are grateful and pleased that no one was injured and the crew and the ship are safe. We have communicated with the families of the crew to inform them of these developments. We commend the entire crew for its professionalism and poise under fire."

At least one of the RPGs did puncture the skin of the ship, causing a small hole and fire that was put out.

The pirates were not able to board.

The Liberty Sun is now headed for Mombassa under U.S. naval escort.

Please stay with CBS 2 HD and wcbstv.com for more on this developing story.

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