U.S. Navy Hunt for Somali Pirates: Behind the Pirate Code

Aboard the USS Vella Gulf, Feb. 20, 2009 — -- Capt. Mark Genung is hunting pirates for the U.S. Navy. He's the commanding officer of the USS Vella Gulf, the flagship of the Navy's Combined Task Force 151, which caught 16 suspected pirates last week.

The Somali men were picked up after allegedly attempting to hijack two commercial ships. Both ships escaped after taking evasive maneuvers and speeding away. The crew on one of the ships, the M/V Polaris, reacted quickly to push the pirate ladder overboard as the pirates tried to board.

For Genung, task force leader Admiral Terry McKnight and the crew under their command, the captures came with the pride of a job well done.

"You're members of the world's most famous cruiser right now. … You can be very proud," the captain told his crew over a loudspeaker in a "pipe all hands," the traditional Navy call for a shipwide announcement.

Genung and the USS Vella Gulf crew have developed a close working knowledge of Somali pirates since last Sept. 25 when pirates hijacked the M/V Faina, a Ukrainian-Russian vessel carrying a fortune in weapons. The capture of the M/V Faina was considered a security issue: Faina's cargo included battle tanks, tank rounds, reactive armor and small arms.

Genung was called in as the Navy's chief negotiator, speaking with the pirates twice a day.

"We needed to be sure it didn't fall into the wrong hands," he told ABC News.

Through most of the 134 days of Faina's capture, the USS Vella Gulf kept watch over the ship and stayed in constant touch with its crew and captors. Genung took responsibility for the crew's safety and welfare. Most of the crew was kept in a small room with limited water. For much of its captivity the Faina had no power for half of the day, turning the cargo ship into a hot, steel cage with little ventilation.

Shortly after the hijacking the M/V Faina's captain, Vladimir Kolobkov, died of what appeared to be natural causes. Still, Genung wasn't worried about deliberate harm to the crew's security, given the pirates' apparent rules of engagement.