Russian navy captures 29 suspected pirates

Well, it must be somewhat crowded aboard the Russian navy destroyer Admiral Panteleyev tonight. AFP reports that the warship's crew captured 29 suspected pirates off the Somali coast earlier today, along with seven Kalashnikovs, a number of handguns and equipment that included satellite navigation devices. No word on what the Russians will do with the suspects, but this is biggest group ever apprehended.

Meanwhile, a Russian tanker was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Monday afternoon. According to the Moscow Times, the crew of NS Commander - 23 Russian nationals - repulsed two attempts by pirates to board their vessel, using fire hoses against automatic weapons and RPGs.

Further south in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles took custody of nine pirates suspected of attacking the cruise liner Melody the other day. They had been apprehended by a Spanish frigate.

Note on the Admiral Panteleyev: The name of the warship is sometimes given as Panteleev or other variations, the discrepancies arising from the translation from Cyrillic to English. The vessel is an anti-submarine destroyer laid down in the early 1990s (Udaloy-class). This class is sometimes mistakenly referred to as frigates, because the class project was designated "frigate bird" by the Soviets.