On Thursday, January 6th, the San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer, USS Kidd, along with its partnered SH-60S Seahawk helicopter rescued 13 Iranian fishermen from pirates in the north Arabian Sea.
Not only did they rescue the 13 fishermen, the San Diego-based sailors took 15 Somali pirates into custody; all 15 pirates surrendered peacefully from the fishing boat Al Molai. The pirates were kept overnight on the Al Molai and then moved to the USS John C. Stennis on Friday.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd discovered a pirate boat right next to the fishing boat Al Molai that has been held hostage by Somali pirates for over 40 days. At that same instant, a distress call was received from the skipper of the vessel. The pirates were using the vessel as their mother ship for at least 45 days until the U.S. Navy came to the rescue.
According to the Navy, the fishermen were held hostage with limited food rations and were allegedly forced to assist in piracy operations. Iran’s government was appreciative of the U.S. Navy’s rescue of their captive fishermen and called the action a positive humanitarian gesture. The rescue occurred just days after Tehran warned the United States to keep out of the Persian Gulf as Iran’s government had feared that the American warships were trying to enforce an embargo against Iranian oil exports.
Fortunately, the U.S. Navy and the San Diego-based USS Kidd were in the right place at the right time. Their efforts to rescue the Iranian fishermen and fight against piracy operations are applauded by both Iran and the United States’ governing bodies.
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