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As navies from all over the world beef up patrols in the Gulf of Aden and the northern Somali coastline, pirates are operating further south in the Indian Ocean.

The five suspected pirates and three skiffs picked up by the U.S.S. Nicholas were captured Thursday several hundred nautical miles west of the Seychelles.  Gunfire was exchanged but no one was injured.

“CTF 151 (the international anti-piracy task force) had knowledge of three suspected pirate vessels and were able to transfer that information to the U.S.S. Nicholas, and the U.S.S. Nicholas was able to conduct an intercept of the suspected vessels.  It was fantastic coordination between coalition and U.S. Maritime Forces,” said Navy Lieutenant Patrick Foughty of the U.S. Naval Forces Africa.

The five suspected pirates are being held aboard the U.S.S. Nicholas until a determination can be made as to what to do with them.  There is an agreement with Kenya, in which pirates can be tried there (as Somalia’s government is poorly functioning).  If there is enough evidence on the pirates, they will likely be turned over to the Kenyan courts.

If not, they may be set free.

The battle against piracy has been ongoing.  It has brought about an unprecedented level of coordination between navies, joined up for the good of sailors of all nationalities at sea.

There are currently 24 nations represented in the Combined Maritime Forces, based out of the US Navy Fifth Fleet Headquarters in Bahrain.  That is the biggest number of nations ever represented in the CMF.

Currently, there are 8 vessels being held by Somali pirates, and 165 hostages.

Officials with the Combined Maritime Forces say that though pirate attacks are up, successful attacks are down.  That is because ships are doing more to protect themselves, including hiring, in some cases, armed security personnel to take on board to ensure the safety of the sailors.  And international navies are operating more intensively in the Gulf of Aden and along the Somali coast.