US Flagged Ship MV LIBERTY SUN Attacked Off Somalia

There are early reports tonight that the US-Flagged vessel MV Liberty Sun, operated by Liberty Maritime Corporation has been attacked off the coast of Somalia. The Long Island based ship was carrying humanitarian aide at the time.

The 20 man crew is apparently unhurt as of last report. The USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) has been dispatched to the distressed vessel.

News reporting is slow to trickle in, will update throughout the night.

CNN is reporting this was an attack, but NBC New York is reporting the ship has been hijacked. Will have to wait and see.

Update: NBC New York is reporting:

The U.S. Navy thwarted an attempted hijacking of a U.S. Cargo ship near Somalia's coast today, sending forces to repel the grenade firing pirates.

Update2: Statement from Liberty Maritime Corporation:

We are grateful and pleased that no one was injured and the crew and the ship are safe. We have communicated with the families of the crew to inform them of these developments. We commend the entire crew for its professionalism and poise under fire.

The LIBERTY SUN was on a voyage enroute to Mombasa, Kenya from Houston, Texas carrying American food aid cargo for African nations suffering from famine. Earlier last week, the vessel had discharged thousands of tons of American food aid cargo in Port Sudan and it was continuing its voyage with additional food aid when it came under attack from the Somali pirates.

Liberty Maritime's first priority has been, and will continue to be, ensuring that the crews aboard our ships are safe. We want to especially thank the United States Navy for its prompt response to our request for assistance. We also wish to thank the U.S. Government for its cooperation in responding to this attack.

Interesting times.