A U.S.-flagged ship that played a central role in a hijacking last spring was attacked again Wednesday in the waters off the east coast of Africa.

It was the first time a security team aboard a major merchant ship repelled a pirate attack, a top U.S Navy officer said.

The Maersk Alabama came under automatic weapons fire from pirates about 350 nautical miles east of the Somali coast, the European Union’s anti-piracy force said, but fought the attackers off.

No casualties were reported on the ship, but pirates on land in Somalia feared the pirates who attacked the Maersck Alabama may have been killed or wounded, or may have drowned.

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