A U.S. Navy destroyer provided medical assistance today to a North Korean cargo ship that had been overrun by pirates off the coast of Somalia, according to the Navy.

While the pirates remain on board, the crew of the Dai Hong Dan say they were able to secure "the steering and engineering spaces of the ship" once the Navy arrived.

Two pirates are dead and five captured, according to initial reports. Three crew mates are seriously injured and have been transferred onto the USS James W. Williams for medical attention.

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The Dai Hong Dan is only one of several vessels that have been targeted by pirates off the coast of Somalia.

Piracy, once a common threat during the colonial era, has returned as "an ongoing maritime security and safety issue," according to the Navy.

Currently, five ships are under pirates' control off the Somali coast, including Japan's Golden Nori,  which the Navy is closely monitoring after being granted permission to enter Somali waters by the Mogadishu government.

Once in sight of that vessel, the Navy fired on the dinghies (pictured), or small skiffs, used by the pirates to board the Japanese ship.

The U.S. Navy patrols the seas as part of the Combined Maritime Forces, based in Manama, Bahrain.

Along with naval forces from Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Pakistan and the U.K., the U.S. Navy patrols "more than 2.5 million square miles of international waters to conduct both integrated and coordinated operations...to preserve the free and secure the world’s oceans by legitimate mariners," according to the Navy.

This post has been updated.

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