Breakfast Granola for 11/18/9

Somali pirates are still out there, and they're still "dee dee dee."

LONDON — As piracy intensifies in the Indian Ocean, seaborne raiders tried again on Wednesday to commandeer the Maersk Alabama, the first American-flag ship seized by pirates last April, the United States Navy said.

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The United States Navy Central Command said four suspected pirates in a skiff came within 300 yards of the Maersk Alabama at 6.30 a.m. Wednesday about 600 miles off the northeast coast of Somalia as it headed for the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

But a security team on board the Maersk Alabama responded with small-arms fire, long-range acoustical devices painful to the human ear and evasive maneuvers to thwart the attack, the navy said in a statement.

“Due to Maersk Alabama following maritime industry’s best practices such as embarking security teams, the ship was able to prevent being successfully attacked by pirates,” said Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, the commander of the Central Command. “This is a great example of how merchant mariners can take pro-active action to prevent being attacked.”

No injuries or damage were reported, the Navy said.

Maersk decided not to be a mark anymore, and luck (along with the size of the Alabama, I suspect) just happened to bring the pirates back around. Maybe armed convoys is the answer. I mean, scaring away crooks by shooting at them with guns, who'da thunk, right?

Found on the dawnpatrol of the intergoogles on the NY Times.