Today, a federal appeals court ruled on the definition of piracy.
It’s now defined as an armed attack on any US vessel, even if the ship isn't robbed.
The ruling came after a review of convictions and life sentences of five Somali pirates who hijacked the USS Nicholas.
The Norfolk-based ship was hijacked back in April 2010.
The court also considered a separate pirate attack on a Navy vessel.
Both of those attacks happened within the same month.
