Woah

You don't think this stuff really happens. But it really does.

October 28, 2007—A pirate skiff burns in the Indian Ocean off Somalia's coast after it was hit by several rounds fired from guided missile destroyer U.S.S. Porter.

The U.S. Navy responded to a distress call made by the Japanese chemical tanker Golden Nori, after the pirates hijacked the ship.

On October 29 U.S. navy destroyer U.S.S. James E. Williams engaged another group of Somali pirates who had seized a North Korean vessel.

"This is a very serious security problem on the African coast. These are not pirates who will remind you of Johnny Depp. These are quite different kinds of pirates," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, told the Associated Press.

From the excellent National Geographic.