America just had a boatload of oil stolen—a big one. The U.S. Fifth Fleet knows where the ship is, and it knows who stole it. But it isn’t doing much about it—it isn’t allowed to. If he were alive, Admiral Perry would be pulling out his hair. Why won’t America use its power?

Somali pirates captured a fully-laden Saudi supertanker off the coast of the East African nation of Kenya this past Saturday. The giant oil tanker, carrying the equivalent of one quarter of Saudi Arabia’s daily oil output—2 million barrels of oil—was en route to the United States via a section of ocean actively patrolled by the U.S. Navy.

In all fairness, the Fifth Fleet is attempting to police an area four times the size of Texas. Yet, the hijacking did catch naval officials off guard. “This is unprecedented,” said Lt. Nathan Christensen, a Navy spokesman. “It’s three times the size of an aircraft carrier.” At over 318,000 deadweight tons, the supertanker is the largest ship ever captured by pirates.

Back in the U.S., Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was “stunned” that the pirates succeeded in pulling off such a capture so far from the coast.

“Certainly we’ve seen an extraordinary rise” of attacks, Mullen said. “I am extremely concerned by the overall number.”

Pirates in speedboats, armed with heavy machine guns and grenade launchers, have been wreaking havoc in the Gulf of Aden, regularly plundering merchant ships over the past two years and especially the past few months. This latest seizure suggests their range has vastly increased.

The pirates are “very good at what they do,” says Mullen. “They’re very well armed. Tactically, they are very good.” The incidence of ship seizures is way up, he says. The National Post puts the number at well over 60 for this year. In September, pirates seized a ship that, among other military hardware, was carrying 33 battle tanks.

According to Mullen, little can be done now that the pirates have the tanker—and hostages. In June, the United Nations said it would allow the U.S. to enter Somali waters when in pursuit of pirates. But that is of little value at present. Once a ship has been captured, countries and shipping companies often prefer to pay the pirates off as opposed to risk damage to their ships or the lives of their crew.

So America will wait for payment negotiations. Then, if the talks proceed as other recent ransom negotiations have, in three or so months the ship may be again heading for the U.S.

According to military sources, the ship is heading toward Eyl, a well-known pirate stronghold in Somalia that is harboring several other captured ships being similarly ransomed.

But the fact that a known pirate stronghold is allowed to exist is in itself a condemning indictment of America.

After the British incident last year in which the Iranian Navy’s kidnapping of British sailors went unretaliated, the world knew the British Royal Navy had become impotent. It appears America is in the same boat—a long way off from the America that men like Theodore Roosevelt presided over.

America has the most dominant, technologically advanced navy in the world. The navy knows where the hijacked ship is, it has a good idea of who the pirates are, and it even has UN permission to enter Somali waters. And the oil was on its way to America.

At the very least, Admiral Perry would have anchored the fleet in Eyl and not left until he had the crew and the cargo—and the pirates.

The cause of America’s broken will can be found here and here.