[red-beard]

I didn't think we had any cargo ships left...

From the WSJ this morning

DUBAI -- Pirates on Wednesday seized an American-flagged cargo vessel off the coast of Somalia, according to the U.S. Navy command in Bahrain.

The incident marks the first time an American-flagged ship has been hijacked in the region's notoriously pirate-prone waters, and it dramatically raises the stakes for American commanders who have moved ships to the region to battle a recent surge in ship attacks.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet said 21 crewmembers were believed to be taken captive in the attack, which took place about 240 nautical miles off the coast of Somalia. A spokeswoman declined to provide further details about the identity of the ship, saying it was allowing the shipping company time to notify families of crewmembers taken.

America's commercial shipping fleet has diminished sharply in recent years, but there remain several dozen America-flagged general cargo carriers plying global waters. The U.S. military also contracts out many cargo ships to meet its logistical needs, immediately raising worry that Wednesday's attack involved one of these ships.

While declining to provide further detail about the ship, the U.S. Navy spokeswoman said current information indicated the ship seized on Wednesday wasn't contracted to the U.S. military.

The Navy declined to detail its immediate reaction to the attack, but the spokesman said the closest U.S. Navy warship was still some 300 nautical miles away, or as much as 10 hours steaming.