And the Darwin award goes too......

[mbailey]

 (Reuters) The guided missle frigate USS Nicholas came under fire from a pirate vessel shortly after midnight in international waters west of the Seychelles, according to a U.S. military statement. The pirates mistook the US warship for one of the many merchant ships in the waters of the Indian Ocean.

The Nicholas returned fire and pursued the skiff as it fled, capturing it about 90 minutes later. Three suspected pirates aboard the skiff were taken into custody, along with two others aboard a suspected pirate mother ship that was nearby.


I would have loved to have seen the look on the face of the pirates when they realized their mistake    Collossial FAIL

 

[Saxman]

One wonders how it's possible to mistake a warship for a merchant vessel in the first place. Same thing happened with a European warship a couple months ago, didn't it?

[AKH]

Epic fail maybe, but not a Darwin award by a long stretch, since qualification for nomination requires the candidate to have unintentionally removed themselves from the gene pool as a direct consequence of their stupidity.

[Tac]

the euro warship actually looked like a freighter of sorts. But a US navy frigate.. umm.. no.. that definitely looks like a warship.

[trax1]

Yeah that would have been great to see their faces when they realized the mistake, it must have been a really dark night, definitely not the smartest pirates in the bunch.

[allaire]

Isn't this like the third time those idiots have mistaken a warship for a merchantman.  Seriously those are some of the most inept "pirates" in the history of pirates. 

[Widewing]

One wonders how it's possible to mistake a warship for a merchant vessel in the first place. Same thing happened with a European warship a couple months ago, didn't it?

At night, far out to sea, it's easy to misidentify a ship.. It's as dark as it gets on earth. I'm sure the frigate only had its running lights lit, and possibly red lighting on the bridge. You haven't seen stars until you've looked at the sky in the middle of an ocean.



My regards,

Widewing

[Dadsguns]

They can very easily make this mistake in the dark, especially when warships have the capability to rig "deceptive lighting" to make the running lights appear as though it is another type of ship such as a tanker, oiler, cargo vessel, etc. etc.  
I am certain this is the case.

[Maverick]

Sounds like a sierra hotel operation. I wish them continued good hunting.
 

[Plawranc]

"Ping Ping Ping"

REE-URN..... FIRE

"KABOOOOOM"

Where did the pirates go?

 

[Ruler2]

I'd like to see a ship "shadowing" program setup down there. Get a group of merchant ships to sail together, and have a destroyer or frigate hiding on the other side of them where nobody coming from Somalia can see it, the pirates attack, the ship comes out of hiding, pirates become pixie dust 

[TwinEng]

Less than 12 hours after that attack on the US Navy Guided Missile Frigate USS Nicholas,  The US Navy Aegis Destroyer USS Farragut came to the aid of a commercial ship the MS Evita, which had come under fire from Somali Pirates well off the coast.

The Farragut not only immediately stopped the attack, but proceeded to sink the pirate mothership that the two attacking skiffs had come from!

These Somali pirates must all be short a few brain cells, for some of them aboard the mothership had actually opened fire on the Farragut as it approached.  How could they not recognize an Aegis Destroyer as being a warship?   Here is a photo of what the USS Farragut looks like:





Here is a photo of the Farragut in action yesterday, with the sinking Somali pirate mothership ablaze off in the distance:





Looks like Pirate hunting season is warming up!!

See:

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/04/02/pirate-season-is-heating-up/?test=latestnews

.

[froger]

Less than 12 hours after that attack on the US Navy Guided Missile Frigate USS Nicholas,  The US Navy Aegis Destroyer USS Farragut came to the aid of a commercial ship the MS Evita, which had come under fire from Somali Pirates well off the coast.

The Farragut not only immediately stopped the attack, but proceeded to sink the pirate mothership that the two attacking skiffs had come from!

These Somali pirates must all be short a few brain cells, for some of them aboard the mothership had actually opened fire on the Farragut as it approached.  How could they not recognize an Aegis Destroyer as being a warship?

Here is a photo of the Farragut in action, with the sinking Somali pirate mothership ablaze off in the distance:


(Image removed from quote.)


Looks like Pirate hunting season is warming up!!

See:

http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/04/02/pirate-season-is-heating-up/?test=latestnews

.

thats some good stuff there bro 

[Flayed]

One wonders how it's possible to mistake a warship for a merchant vessel in the first place. Same thing happened with a European warship a couple months ago, didn't it?

 Yes it did though in the case your thinking of the pirates actually boarded the military command ship for the area and opened fire with assault rifles. Imagine their surprise when the entire crew shot back lol.  I don't remember what European country owned the command vessel though.

  I picture the navy guys saying "wait for it, wait for it, NOW" LOL

[Grayeagle]

I cannot think of a better use for a Destroyer

'a Kill had been Recorded'

Wonder if they paint kill flags on the door to the bridge?
5 and the boat/crew are aces?

I can imagine the pirate commander sending for his brown pants

-GE aka Frank