Somali pirates fired grenades and automatic weapons at an American freighter loaded with food aid but the ship managed to escape the attack and was heading to Kenya yesterday under US Navy escort, officials said.
The pirates attacked the American freighter with ''rockets'' to ''destroy'' the ship in revenge for an operation that freed a US captain last weekend, one of their commanders said last night.
Abdi Garad said, ''this attack was the first against our prime target.
''We intended to destroy this American-flagged ship and the crew on board but unfortunately they narrowly escaped us. ''The aim of this attack was totally different. We were not after a ransom. We also assigned a team with special equipment to chase and destroy any ship flying the American flag in retaliation for the brutal killing of our friends.''
In defiance of United States President Barack Obama's vow to halt their banditry, pirates have seized four vessels and more than 75 hostages off the Horn of Africa since Sunday's dramatic rescue of the American freighter captain.
The Liberty Sun's American crew was not injured in the latest attack but the vessel sustained some damage, owner Liberty Maritime Corp said. Still, the attack on the Liberty Sun foiled the reunion between the American sea captain rescued by Navy snipers and the 19-man crew he had saved with his heroism.
Captain Richard Phillips was planning to meet his crew in the Kenyan port of Mombasa and fly home with them yesterday to the United States. But Mr Phillips was on the USS Bainbridge, the destroyer diverted to escort the Liberty Sun after it evaded attack.
Instead, the crew was at Mombasa airport yesterday preparing to return home alone.
''We are very happy to be going home,'' crewman William Rios of New York City said. ''[But] we are disappointed to not be reuniting with the captain in Mombasa. He is a very brave man.''
Mr Phillips had offered himself up as a hostage to save his men from the pirates.
Liberty Sun sailors used the same tactic Mr Phillips employed to foil the pirates blockading themselves inside the engine room. ''We are under attack by pirates, we are being hit by rockets ... also bullets,'' crewman Thomas Urbik, 26, wrote to his mother in an email on Tuesday. ''We are barricaded in the engine room and so far no one is hurt. [A] rocket penetrated the bulkhead but the hole is small. Small fire, too, but put out.''
The Liberty Sun ''conducted evasive manoeuvres'' to ward off the pirates, US Navy Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said.
''That could be anything from zig-zagging to speeding up to all kinds of things,'' he said. ''We've seen in the past that that can be very effective in deterring a pirate attack.''
The USS Bainbridge responded to the attack but the pirates had left by the time it arrived five hours later, Navy Captain Jack Hanzlik said. The Bainbridge sent ''a small security detachment'' on board the Liberty Sun to make sure its crew of about 20 American mariners was safe, Lieutenant Christensen said.
This year, Somali pirates have attacked 79 ships and hijacked 19 of them. They still hold 17 vessels with more than 300 hostages from a dozen or so countries.
The Liberty Sun was carrying humanitarian aid to Mombasa which was destined for Somalia.
In an unusual night raid, pirates seized the Greek-managed bulk carrier MV Irene E.M before dawn on Tuesday, with at least 21 crew. Hours later, they commandeered the Lebanese-owned cargo ship MV Sea Horse carrying 19 crew.
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