First U.S. Pirate Captives since Kenya agreement taken off Somalia

According to the Navy Times, the USS Vella Gulf (CG-72) has taken seven prisoners after responding to a distress call from the M/V Polaris. Aside from being the first prisoners taken by the U.S. Navy since the agreement with Kenya, indicating that the agreement is actually considered to be an enabler (and not just PR) the captives (we're told) were transferred to a 'holding area' constructed on the MSC vessel Lewis and Clark (T-AKE-1). This holding area (ex-cargo hold) comes complete with pallets, toilets, and assigned Marine guards.

We will be closely watching to see when these prisoners are in fact transferred to Kenya for what this may tell us about prisoner handling policies.
Note that this isn't the first pirate capture by the U.S. or even the first handoff to Kenya (see EagleSpeak for details of an earlier event) it will be the first since the stated plan for transfer and the first under the current CTF-150/151 organisation.

Although there is no specific information as to the assets used, the article says that a Vella Gulf boarding party searched and seized the men and the small craft they were in. Unclear if LAMPS helos were used, which would offer some insight into the ability of non-aviation ships to cope with this mission.

Image of French forces capturing pirates from Jan. 2009, Reuters