Keywords: US Navy 071202-N-6069T-005 Crew members from merchant vessel Al Marjan meet with a boarding team from the U.S. Navy dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41).jpg en CENTRAL COMMAND AREA OF OPERATIONS Dec 2 2007 Crew members from merchant vessel Al Marjan meet with a boarding team from the U S Navy dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island LSD 41 Al Marjan was released from pirates off the Somali coast Dec 2 Al Marjan had been under the control of Somalia-based pirates since Oct 17 Whidbey Island was on hand to assist the vessel and its crew following its release The U S Navy has maintained a ship presence off the coast of Somalia since late October where there have been six pirated vessels off the Somali coast in the last 30 days The U S -led multinational maritime task force responsible for planning counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa includes Italy the Netherlands and the United Kingdom Coalition forces conduct Maritime Security Operations under international maritime conventions to ensure security and safety in international waters so that all commercial shipping can operate freely while transiting the region U S Navy photo by Ensign Elizabeth Tree Released 2007-12-02 071202-N-6069T-005 Navy http //www navy mil/view_image asp id 53377 U S Navy photo by Ensign Elizabeth Tree PD-USGov-Military-Navy United States Navy images from Central Command |