On Nov. 18, a Danish-owned ship Maersk Alabama, which was hijacked last spring, was struck once again by the Somali pirates. Last spring, the U.S. citizen captain Richard Phillips was held hostage for five days in Maersk Alabama.

Luckily, this time the crew was able to fight off the pirates. CNN reports that this is the first time a major merchant ship has successfully repelled a pirate attack. “It’s ridiculous that the pirates keep attacking our ships,” freshman Laura Hackfeld said, “and I think we should intervene, because they are just embarrassing themselves with their juvenile behavior.”

The attack was within 350 miles of the eastern coast of Somalia. Due to the rise in piracy, commercial ships try to stay as far away from the Somali coast as possible, but this time, it was not far enough. “I think that the U.N. or someone should be trying to help solve the problem,” sophomore Helina Daniel said.

Three of the four pirates, who were responsible for the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama in April, were gunned down by the Navy seals during the rescue mission. The fourth pirate Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse had pleaded not guilty to the accounts of piracy he was charged with and is waiting for his trial.

Piracy, considered by many Somalis as one of the easy ways to make a living, has become a common job for many Somalis.

It also can be competitive among them by having pirates to fight against their rival pirates to win the opportunity to commandeer  bigger ships.

Time and time again, piracy proves to be a dangerous profession.