MV Powerful

The MV Powerful is a Danish-flagged cargo ship owned by Excel Maritime Carriers Ltd. of Greece. It was attacked with the intention of hijack by Somali pirates using assault rifles on November 11, 2008 in the Arabian Sea's Gulf of Aden in the Horn of Africa. Its capture was thwarted by the Royal Marines of the British frigate, HMS Cumberland, as well as the crew of the Russian Neustrashimy class frigate.

The November 11 incident off Somalia's coast occurred 60 nmi south of the Yemeni coast, in the Gulf of Aden. The engagement was attributed to Operation Enduring Freedom - Horn of Africa and was described by The Times as "the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged in a fatal shoot-out on the high seas in living memory."