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June 1, 2010

By Matthew Bowers
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 1, 2010

A routine counter-narcotics inspection at sea turned into anything but for a boarding party of the Norfolk-based guided missile cruiser San Jacinto when it rescued five Yemeni sailors from suspected pirates.

The sailors detained the 13 suspects without incident last week until the Yemeni navy took them into custody, according to a Navy news release.

Late Thursday afternoon, the San Jacinto sent two rigid-hull inflatable boats to check out the Al Jawat, a dhow, or traditional Middle Eastern sail-powered ship, on the Arabian Sea, 68 miles southeast of Ras Fartak, Yemen, according to the release.

During its search, the boarding team found one person hiding under a blanket, four AK-47 rifles and four rocket-propelled grenades. Upon further questioning, they were told that 13 suspected pirates were trying to blend in with the dhow's crew of five. They had commandeered the ship a day earlier, the dhow's master reportedly said.

Further details weren't immediately available. The San Jacinto left Norfolk in January on a seven-month deployment.