SEALs Board Tanker, Overwhelm Pirates

A contingent of Navy SEALs boarded an unflagged oil tanker in waters off the coast of Cyprus March 16, and took control of the vessel from three Libyan gunmen who had seized it earlier, the Pentagon announced. The interdiction came at the requests of the Libyan and Cypriot governments. The vessel, the Morning Glory, was carrying oil owned by the Libyan state-owned National Oil Company. The SEAL team, attached to Special Operations Command Europe, operated from the destroyer Roosevelt, which also provided helicopter support and served as a tactical control center for the mission, according to Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby.