( CNN ) -- A federal court on Monday sentenced a Somali man to 30 years in prison for acts related to high-seas piracy , according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney 's office for the Eastern District of Virginia . `` Today marks the first sentencing in Norfolk for acts of piracy in more than 150 years , '' U.S. Attorney MacBride said in the statement . `` Piracy is a growing threat throughout the world , and today 's sentence ... demonstrates that the United States will hold modern-day pirates accountable in U.S . courtrooms . '' Jama Idle Ibrahim pleaded guilty in federal court in August , admitting he had intended to seize a U.S. merchant vessel on April 10 and hold it for ransom . Ibrahim and five other would-be pirates learned too late that they had instead pulled alongside a U.S . Naval vessel , the USS Ashland . They were captured after firing at those on board , according to the statement . The attack occurred in the Gulf of Aden between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula . Until this year , there had not been a piracy-related conviction in the United States since 1861 , during the Civil War , officials said . In May , Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse , who was accused of leading the attack on the Maersk Alabama in April 2009 , pleaded guilty to felony counts of hijacking maritime vessels , kidnapping and hostage taking . CNN 's Terry Frieden contributed to this report .
NEW : A Somali man is sentenced to 30 years in prison in high-seas piracy attempt . Jama Idle Ibrahim is one of a group of would-be pirates who were captured . Score: 6 Until this year , the last piracy-related conviction in the United States was in 1861 .