Aargh! Video of Liberty Sun Pirate Attack

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg's hearing today into the recent rash of pirate attacks on U.S. ships will include dramatic footage of the April 14 assault on the Liberty Sun, which flicks off two pirate boats and sails to safety. And the subcommittee has shared the dramatic footage with Whispers. You can clearly hear the mate who took the video bark directions to crewmen. "I want you to go with God," he says at one point. And you can hear the gunshots fired by the pirates who attacked on two powerboats.

We hear that the president of Liberty Maritime Corp., Philip Shapiro, plans to ask Congress to help protect shipping off the Horn of Africa. He might hear what he wants, because Lautenberg, chair of the Senate Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security Subcommittee, said yesterday: "This violence and lawlessness will simply not be tolerated. These pirates have to be stopped."

Here's the video transcript.

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