The Somalis sat at three rows of tables in the Hamburg state court, each with two attorneys, as their trial opened on charges of attacking maritime traffic and kidnapping.

Three translators were also on hand, and the courtroom was packed with reporters to witness the opening of the piracy trial — the first being held in the northern port city in centuries.

Prosecutors were unable to determine the ages of three of the men, so the trial is being held in a youth court for all suspects. They face a possible 15 years in prison if convicted.

The men were captured aboard the MV Taipan in the Gulf of Aden on April 5 by Dutch marines. The suspected pirates were extradited from the Netherlands to Germany in June.

When the ship was attacked, the crew sent out an emergency call and then locked themselves in the vessel’s security room for several hours. The 15 crew members from Germany, Russia, Ukraine and Sri Lanka also managed to stop the ship’s engine, making it impossible for the pirates to take the 140-meter-long (460-feet) Taipan to their Somali home port.

After a short exchange of fire, a Dutch anti-piracy unit liberated the ship, capturing the 10 pirates and seizing five machine guns, two missile launchers and ammunition.

None of the crew members was harmed.

While there has not been a piracy trial in Germany for hundreds of years, Hamburg has a centuries-old tradition of sentencing pirates.

Between 1390 and 1600, at least 533 pirates were sentenced and executed in the German port city. The last piracy trial is said to have taken place in 1624, according to the Museum of Hamburg History, the news agency DAPD reported.