Spike Sails the High Seas With the US Navy in Its Search for Pirates in New One-Hour Special

NEW YORK, May 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Bands of pirates terrorizing commercial merchant ships off the coast of Africa continue to make headlines around the world.  However, an international military coalition lead by the US Navy is starting to make headlines of their own, capturing pirates and stopping hijackings.  Sail the high seas with Spike and 44 Blue Productions as they chronicle the US Navy's efforts to restore order to the turbulent waters off of the coast of Somalia with the one-hour special, "U.S. Navy: Pirate Hunters" which premieres Tuesday, June 8 (11:00 PM – Midnight, ET/PT).

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The Gulf of Aden is one the world's most important shipping lanes.  It is 450 miles long and connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. More than 25,000 ships travel through the Gulf every year carrying 11% of the world's oil and billions of dollars in goods.  The Gulf of Aden also runs along the volatile coast of Somalia.  Armed with high-powered guns and small arsenals of artillery, each year bands of Somali pirates are responsible for more than 100 attacks.  

The US Navy granted Spike and 44 Blue Productions unprecedented access to film aboard the USS Gettysburg with three of its counter piracy operative teams as it patrolled the Gulf of Aden along the coast of Somalia. Viewers will see the dramatic, tension-filled and high-stakes military mission first-hand as they patrol the ocean, board questionable vessels, get caught in gun battles and seize stolen goods and weapons.

"U.S. Navy: Pirate Hunters" was produced for Spike by Emmy® Award-winning reality production house 44 Blue Productions ("The True Story of Black Hawk Down," "Lockup") and Adam Friedman ("Vertical Ascent").  Rasha Drachkovitch and award-winning producer Adam Friedman serve as executive producers.  Sharon Levy, Tim Duffy and Joe Weinstock are the executives in charge of production for the pilot for Spike TV.

About 44 Blue Productions

44 Blue Productions, Inc. is a top supplier of reality, documentary, lifestyle, and action-adventure programming, having produced more than 1000 hours of programming for leading broadcast and cable outlets including: A&E, Animal Planet, CBS, Discovery Channel , ESPN, HBO, History Channel, Lifetime, MSNBC, Nickelodeon, PBS, Spike TV, Style Channel, TLC, and truTV.  Some of the company's current projects include MSNBC's "Lockup"  the #1-rated prison series on television, "Stringers: LA" for truTV, "LA Gang Unit" for A&E, Style Network's "Peter Perfect" and Emmy-nominated "Split Ends" as well as the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning series "A Place of Our Own" and "Los Ninos en Su Casa" for PBS.  In 2008, 44 Blue launched the syndicated series "Family Court with Judge Penny" seen in over 85% of the country.  Rasha Drachkovitch and Stephanie Drachkovitch are executive producers.  For more information, visit www.44blue.com.

About Adam Friedman

Adam Friedman is an award-winning film and television producer with more than 25 years of experience in telling the stories of everyday men and women in extraordinary circumstances.  His diverse credits include an Emmy Award-winning documentary on the heroes of the NYPD, many Emmy Award-nominated episodes of A&E's series "Biography" and music videos for The Rolling Stones.

About Spike TV

Spike TV is available in 98.6 million homes and is a division of MTV Networks.  A unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), MTV Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com and for up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs, visit Spike TV's press site at http://www.spike.com/press.

SOURCE Spike TV

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