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Captain taken hostage by Somali pirates on the high-seas
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by Amy Judd | April 8, 2009 at 05:03 pm
940 views | 60 Recommendations | 15 comments
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The captain of a US cargo ship carrying food to African refugees has been taken hostage by Somali pirates and the crew are trying to plead with them for the return of their captain.
Military help has arrived on the scene now.
The pirates attacked the ship this morning and seized the US Maersk Alabama from Norfolk Virginia. This is the first time since the early 19th century that a US merchant ship has been hijacked in this region.
There were four pirates and twenty crew members and after a matter of hours the crew regained control of the vessel, but second mate Ken Quinn has described to CNN what the sixth hijacking in five days has been like for them:
Quinn, sounding harried in a terse mobile phone call to CNN, said the crew had released one of the pirates they had tied up for 12 hours. But the hijackers were refusing to return Captain Richard Phillips.
"Right now, they want to hold our captain for ransom and we're trying to get him back," Quinn told the US network.
"He's in the ship's lifeboat," he said, explaining the four pirates had taken the lifeboat off the Maersk Alabama and that Phillips was in touch with his crew via ship's radio.
"So now we're just trying to offer them whatever we can. Food. But it's not working too good."
The Pentagon confirmed a US Navy ship was en route and it has now arrived. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out about what happened:
"More generally, we think the world must come together to end the scourge of piracy," she told reporters, after the White House earlier said it was "closely monitoring" the ship's fate.
The ship is bringing relief cargo to people in Kenya.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (15)
at 19:19 on April 8th, 2009
This really needs to be considered 'Breaking News' with updates needed. There could be some shootouts especially since it turns out these pirates are rank amateurs, probably not half as smart as the bunglers of the Mumbai Blasts last November. Hope the Captain and crew remain unscathed.
at 19:44 on April 8th, 2009
Time to go on a search-and-destroy mission in Somalia. Need to learn some respect the old-fashioned way.
at 19:58 on April 8th, 2009
Right on !
at 20:04 on April 8th, 2009
Grazie, Fred. Il respetto e multo, multo importante. That is what the Godfather told me to tell you. :)
at 20:09 on April 8th, 2009
Basta ! Basta !
at 21:12 on April 8th, 2009
"second mate Ken Quinn has described to CNN what the sixth hijacking in five days has been like for them:"
Unbelievable
at 07:08 on April 9th, 2009
Here is the latest update:
FBI joins effort in hostage standoff with pirates
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer – 43 mins ago
NAIROBI, Kenya – FBI hostage negotiators joined U.S. Navy efforts Thursday to free an American ship captain held captive on a lifeboat by Somali pirates. A U.S. destroyer and a spy plane kept close watch in the high-seas standoff near the Horn of Africa.
The pirates took Capt. Richard Phillips hostage Wednesday after they hijacked the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, then fled the cargo ship as the vessel's crew overpowered them. It was the first such attack on American sailors in about 200 years.
Read the full story here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/piracy
at 06:13 on April 10th, 2009
The American ship captain held hostage by pirates on a lifeboat off Somalia tried to escape by jumping into the sea but was quickly recaptured, officals have said.
Capt Phillips made a daring bid for freedom, according to reports
Captain Richard Phillips, who is being held on a lifeboat adrift in the Indian Ocean, jumped overboard only to be caught again within sight of a US warship.
Reports said officials believe Capt Phillips was unhurt in the escape attempt.
Four pirates have been holding him since a foiled bid to hijack his cargo ship, the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama, several hundred miles off Somalia.
Capt Phillips apparently volunteered to get in the lifeboat with the pirates to act as a hostage to secure the safety of the Alabama's 20 American crew members, who managed to regain control of their ship.
at 12:12 on April 10th, 2009
The pirates have their backup ship nearby as another US Navy carrier is scheduled to arrive in the area to protect other cargo ships.
at 14:14 on April 10th, 2009
Somalia's lawless coastline is a perfect haven for pirates, who benefit from multi-million dollar ransoms to make money in the impoverished nation...
The all-Filipino crew of a Japanese-operated ship seized in October, 2008 has been freed, last January, 2009.
It was not clear if ransom was paid to free the 21 Filipinos aboard the African Sanderling, which was seized by pirates while en route to Asia from the Middle East. At least 33 Filipino sailors are still held by pirates in separate incidents.
Thank you Amy for the news! :D
at 15:03 on April 10th, 2009
Might be time to allow ship crews to carry guns
at 21:55 on April 10th, 2009
You'd think they would have a long-distance stun-gun perfected by now....
at 23:03 on April 10th, 2009
Lol seriously. Maybe a few mounted machine guns around the deck too
at 14:03 on April 11th, 2009
Send a dive team of Navy Seals underwater to the life-boat, when someone opens and exits the main hatch again, as they have before, throw in an explosive but non-lethal chemical/gas canister that immediately irritates the skin, eyes, etc. All will have to jump overboard to remove the chemical from their bodies and WHOOOOSH.... the Navy Seals snatch up the Captian/hostage and capture/kill all the Pirates.
at 07:51 on April 11th, 2009
BBC NEWS 15:52 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7994566.stm
Somali pirates holding a US captain hostage have warned that using force to rescue him could result in "disaster".
The pirates said they hoped to transfer Capt Richard Phillips from a lifeboat to a bigger vessel, as US and other naval ships made their way to the area.