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April 8, 2009

By Louis Hansen
The Virginian-Pilot
© April 7, 2009

NORFOLK

The guided missile destroyer Mahan is scheduled to return to Norfolk Naval Station on Thursday morning after a six-month deployment conducting maritime security and anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

The ship was part of the Navy’s anti-piracy force, known as combined task force 151, established to protect merchant vessels from pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia. In February, sailors from the Mahan and the cruiser Vella Gulf stopped and searched a suspected pirate skiff and found several weapons, including a rocket propelled grenade launcher.

The Mahan also conducted operations in the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Red Sea. The ship, commanded by Cmdr. Stephen F. Murphy, is based in Norfolk and has a crew of 260 sailors.

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com