Russian attack submarines such as this one have been spotted in the Atlantic Ocean.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said their presence is not causing alarms to go off.

“So long as they are operating in international waters, as, frankly, we do around the world, and are behaving in a responsible way, they are certainly free to do so, and it doesn’t cause any alarm within this building,” he said.

It has been years since Russia operated near the U.S. seaboard, thousands of miles from home ports.

“What’s interesting is, they haven’t been able to do this in some time, and now they are. It indicates a return to their ability to do this,” the senior defense official said.

He viewed the patrol as an example of Russia showing the United States and the world its expeditionary forces, part of a continuing trend. He said the Russians have recently been a partner in anti-piracy operations around the world. And last year the Russian Navy conducted a “tour around the world,” pulling into ports throughout Latin America.

In December, a Russian spokesman said that tour demonstrated “Russia’s ability to fly its naval flag and ensure protection of its national interests in the world theater.”

The Akula-class nuclear-powered submarines, which are normally equipped with surface-loaded cruise missiles and surface-to-air missiles, have stayed in international waters, the source said. These are not the class of submarines that can launch intercontinental nuclear missiles.

The U.S. Navy has the capability to locate, identify and track submarine activity through satellites, ships, aircraft and classified systems.

“NORAD and U.S. Northern Command are aware of Russian submarine activity off the East Coast operating in international waters. We have been monitoring them during transit and recognize the right of all nations to exercise freedom of navigation in international waters according to international law,” said Lt. Desmond James of the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

A Russian military spokesman said at a news conference in Moscow that the submarines’ activities were “part of the normal process.”

Defense officials told The New York Times that one of the Russian submarines was in international waters Tuesday about 200 miles off the coast of the United States. The location of the second was unclear.

U.S. officials downplayed the significance of the submarines operating off the U.S. coast.

“There is no need to overreact,” the senior defense official said.

“This is not an issue of concern. It is all consistent with the internationally-recognized principle of freedom of navigation. As long as the vessels do not cross into territorial waters, they are free to navigate any open waters,” another official said.

Officials have said this is the naval equivalent to Russian bomber missions close to U.S. and other countries’ borders.

“It is Russia again trying to assert its influence and trying to show they have a relevant military,” a third defense official said (source: cnn.com).

The unit — called Combined Task Force 151 — is a spinoff of an existing force in the region that addressed a range of security issues, such as drug smuggling and weapons trafficking, as well as piracy.

The Gulf of Aden links the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. About 20,000 oil tankers, freighters and merchant vessels pass along the crucial shipping route each year near largely lawless Somalia.The United States is among at least 20 countries that are trying to combat piracy in the region, including Russia, India, Germany and Iran. In December, German sailors foiled an attempt by pirates to hijack an Egyptian cargo ship off the coast of Yemen, according to the German Defense Ministry, and the European Union launched its first naval operation to protect vessels. That came just days after China revealed its own plans to patrol the Horn of Africa’s volatile coastline.

Task Force 151 will be devoted solely to counterpiracy efforts, said Lt. Stephanie Murdock, a Fifth Fleet spokeswoman. The United States anticipates other nations joining the force “in the near future.”

“The problem of piracy is and continues to be a problem that begins ashore and is an international problem that requires an international solution,” Vice Adm. Bill Gortney, commander of the Combined Maritime Forces, said in a news release from the Fifth Fleet in Manama, Bahrain. “We believe the establishment of CTF-151 is a significant step in the right direction.”

The financial and human costs of piracy are extensive. Ships ranging from luxury yachts to a Saudi supertanker have been held for ransom. At least one major company pulled its ships from the Gulf of Aden region in 2008, meaning cargo bound for Europe had to round the African continent rather than use the Suez Canal.

Pirates attacked nearly 100 vessels and hijacked as many as 40 in the waters off the coast of Somalia in 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau. See how pirate attacks peaked in 2008 »

“The pirates are living between life and death,” a pirate leader, identified by only one name, Boyah, told the Somali news organization Garowe Online late last year. CNN obtained the complete interview.

“Who can stop them?” Boyah said. “Americans and British all put together cannot do anything.”

Boyah said that the piracy began because traditional coastal fishing became difficult after foreign fishing trawlers depleted local fish stocks. Traditional fishermen started attacking the trawlers until the trawler crews fought back with heavy weapons. The fishermen then turned to softer targets.

“We went into the deep ocean and hijacked the unarmed cargo ships,” Boyah said. “For the past three years, we have not operated near the Somali coast. We have operated at least 80 miles [out], in international waters.”

British journalist Colin Freeman and Spanish photojournalist Jose Cendon, both working for London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, were released Sunday after being held by pirates who abducted them November 26 in the Somali city of Bosasso. Two Somali journalists, who have not been heard from, were also taken, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Task Force 151 is an outgrowth of Combined Task Force-150, which was created to conduct security operations at the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom — the U.S. effort in Afghanistan. The task forces are part of the Combined Maritime Forces, which includes naval ships and other assets from more than 20 nations.

“Some navies in our coalition did not have the authority to conduct counter-piracy missions,” Gortney said. “The establishment of CTF-151 will allow those nations to operate under the auspices of CTF-150, while allowing other nations to join CTF-151 to support our goal of deterring, disrupting and eventually bringing to justice the maritime criminals involved in piracy events.”

Michael Howlett, divisional director of the International Maritime Bureau, said attacks haven’t stopped, but they have not been as successful recently. He cited the presence of navies in the gulf and the fact that merchant mariners are taking more appropriate measures to avert hijackings as reasons for the decline.

He welcomed the establishment of the task force.

“We strongly believe the navies are the only effective response against piracy,” he said, adding that the navies in the region “are doing a great job.”

The U.S. Navy praised merchant mariners’ measures against pirate attacks, such as raising ladders, posting lookouts, speeding up, taking evasive maneuvers and using fire hoses.

“The most effective measures we’ve seen to defeat piracy are non-kinetic and defensive in nature,” Gortney said. “The merchant ships have been doing a great job stepping up and utilizing these methods to defeat piracy attempts.” (source: cnn.com)

The attack on the Sirius Star, three times the mass of a US aircraft carrier and capable of carrying 2m barrels of crude oil, is the most audacious in recent times.

A large, Saudi-owned crude oil carrier Sirius Star has been captured by pirates in the Arabian Sea. The tanker was attacked 800 east of Mombasa, Kenya Photograph: Caters News Agency Ltd

It took place 520 miles south-east of Mombasa, Kenya, more than twice as far out to sea as other recent attacks on shipping, the US navy said. The International Chamber of Shipping said it believed the ship was 800 miles east of Mombasa when attacked.Reports earlier this afternoon on Arabiya television suggesting the crew had been freed could not be confirmed. The US Navy said it understood the pirates were holding the tanker “near an anchorage point” of the town of Eyl, Somalia, which has become a haven for pirates.

The Saudi- vessel was heading for the US via the Cape of Good Hope. There are 25 crew on board, including those from Britain, Croatia, the Philippines, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

“We are evaluating the situation,” Lieutenant Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the US Fifth Fleet, said, when asked whether the navy was taking action to rescue the tanker.

He said he had spoken to those on board by telephone today from the headquarters in Bahrain. The vessel was hijacked on Saturday.

“Sirius Star is three times the size of a US aircraft carrier and shows how they are successfully expanding their operations,” Christensen said. He added the operation demonstrated a new level of sophistication as the attackers had to scale the 10-metre high sides of the vessel. Previous attacks have occurred within 200 nautical miles of land.

“We don’t know the condition of the crew on board or the nature of the pirates’ demands. In cases like this what we typically see is a demand for money from the ship owners but we haven’t had that yet,” he said.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office confirmed that two of those on board are British, but could not give any details of their role on the ship. He said: “We are seeking more information on the incident.”

Andrew Linington, from Nautilus UK, the seafarers union, said the British nationals on board were thought to be a master, and a chief engineer.

“This has come as a massive shock. It’s the biggest ship that’s ever been taken, and it’s a long way away from the area, which up until now has been regarded as the dangerous region; where the previous attacks have been,” he said. “Tankers of this size are usually safe from attacks. It’s a worrying escalation.”

Pirates, often based in Somalia, have made shipping routes off east Africa among the most dangerous in the world.

The route around southern Africa is a main thoroughfare for fully laden supertankers from the Gulf, the world’s biggest oil exporting region.

The Sirius Star is owned by a Dubai shipping firm, Vela International Marine Ltd, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, sending around 7m barrels per day (bpd) to global markets.

The very large crude carrier (VLCC) was sailing under a Liberian flag and is carrying an unspecified amount of oil. Built by Daewoo in South Korea, the 318,000-tonne, 330-metre-long vessel made its maiden voyage in March this year.

The ship is the largest vessel to come under attack by pirates in the area, a US Navy spokesman said.

Piracy in the Gulf of Aden, between Yemen and Somalia, has more than doubled in 2008, with assailants using GPS navigational aids and satellite phones to find potential targets, according to a report last month by the international affairs think tank, Chatham House. It warned of the danger a tanker could come under attack.

“As pirates become bolder and use ever more powerful weaponry a tanker could be set on fire, sunk or forced ashore, any of which could result in an environmental catastrophe that would devastate marine and bird life for years to come,” it said.

“The pirates’ aim is to extort ransom payments and to date that has been their main focus. However, the possibility that they could destroy shipping is very real.”

Vela International Marine Limited is the sixth largest VLCC-owner in the world, employing 1,100 people worldwide. It owns and operates a fleet of 24 tankers.

Last week, British commandos killed two suspected pirates who tried to seize a Danish ship in the Gulf of Aden during an operation involving a Royal Navy and a Russian warship (source: guardian.co.uk).