USS Ashland (LSD-48) - Later Service

Later Service

In January 2007, the warship was sent to the coast of Somalia to conduct antiterrorist operations as part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower task force. On 31 May 2008 The Guardian reported that the human rights group Reprieve said up to seventeen US Naval vessels may have been used to covertly hold captives. Reprieve expressed the concern the Ashland had been used as a receiving ship for up to 100 captives taken in East Africa.

In April 2008, Ashland visited Antsiranana, Madagascar.

On 10 April 2010, seven suspected pirates on a skiff shot at the Ashland approximately 330 nautical miles (610 km) off the coast of Djibouti. Ashland fired two rounds at the skiff from her MK-38 Mod 2, 25mm gun. The people on board the skiff abandoned ship as it became engulfed in flames. Rigid-hulled inflatable boats from the Ashland rescued the six surviving individuals and brought them aboard the ship for medical treatment. The Ashland was not damaged and there were no injuries to the crew. The piracy charges were later dropped, although other charges remain in effect. In late August 2010, one of the pirates, Jama Idle Ibrahim, and five others, pleaded guilty to attacking to plunder a vessel, engaging in an act of violence against people on a vessel, and using a firearm during a crime of violence. They agreed to a 30 year prison term, and currently face a sentencing hearing on 29 November 2010. On 29 November 2010 Jama Idle Ibrahim was sentenced at a federal courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia to 30 years in prison for his involvement in the April piracy attacks against the Ashland. "Today marks the first sentencing in Norfolk for acts of piracy in more than 150 years," said U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride.

USS Ashland is in dry dock at General Dynamics in Norfolk, Virginia for mid-life extension work that includes normal repair and refurbishment, as well as major alterations to several ship systems. Improvements to the ship’s diesel engines, onboard networks, engineering control systems, and power management, and improved capacity for air conditioning and chilled water distribution are being made. The biggest long-term change, however, will involve the replacement of high-maintenance steam systems with all-electric functionality. With work planned for completion by February 2012, the Ashland, one of eight active ships in its class, is expected to remain in service and mission-capable to 2038.