The US navy has reportedly fired on Somali pirates who hijacked a ship carrying an Irish engineer off the Horn of Africa last week.
Fred Parle (68), of Aughnamore, Co Sligo, along with four Russians and a British captain, was on the Svitzer Korsakovwhen the pirates raided the ship last Friday off the coast of Puntland, a semi-autonomous region in northeast Somalia.
It was making its way to Sakhalin Island, between northwest Japan and Russia.
"A US warship fired at one of the boats. We don't know if there are any casualties," said Andrew Mwangura, director of the Seafarers Assistance Programme. He said the gunmen claim to be "eco-warriors" and not pirates.
The US Navy declined to comment. A spokeswoman said the navy was trying to stop the pirates from re-supplying.
Mr Parle, chief engineer on the ship, is a founding member of Sligo sub aqua club and has worked for decades in the international maritime industry.
Piracy has been rife in the waters off Somalia since warlords toppled military dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.