Brilliante Virtuoso is a large oil tanker

Oil tanker

An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extraction to refineries...

 that was endangered by fire on July 6, 2011.
The crew reported they thought they were being attacked by Somalian pirates, while south of the port of Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

. Subsequently they reported that their ship was endangered by an uncontrollable fire, and they were abandoning ship. Sailors from the USS Philippine Sea

USS Philippine Sea (CG-58)

USS Philippine Sea is a Flight II Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser on active service in the United States Navy. She is named for the Battle of the Philippine Sea during World War II and is the second ship to bear the name. The Philippine Sea was the first U.S. or allied vessel to launch...

were able to rescue the crew. They reported they found no sign of pirates.

The Brilliante Virtuoso can carry 144,000 tons of oil.