[Al Arabiya Latest] United States cargo ship captain Richard Phillips has been freed from captivity at the hands of Somali pirates who had held him hostage on a lifeboat after trying to seize his vessel, the U.S. navy said on Sunday. "I can confirm that Captain Phillips has been safely recovered," said spokeswoman Laura Tischler, without providing additional details on the operation. A U.S. Navy spokesman, Lieutenant Commander John Daniels, also confirmed to AFP that Phillips had been freed.CNN television, citing a senior US official, reported that three of the four pirates holding Phillips were killed, and the fourth pirate was in custody.
Maritime sources in Kenya and Somalia did not confirm the report of Phillips' release, which appeared to end a five-day high seas standoff between the Somali gunmen and U.S. forces.
"The captain is a hero"
Phillips, 53, is the first American taken captive by Somali pirate gangs who have marauded in the busy Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean shipping lanes for years. Three U.S. warships were watching the situation.
The U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama container ship was attacked far out in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, but its 20 American crew apparently fought off the pirates and regained control. Relatives said Phillips volunteered to go with the pirates in a Maersk Alabama lifeboat in exchange for the crew. "The captain is a hero," one crew member shouted from the 17,000-ton ship as it docked in Kenya's Mombasa port under darkness on Saturday. "He saved our lives by giving himself up."
Experts had expected a quick end to the standoff, but the pirates were holding out for both a ransom and safe passage home.
The saga has thrown world attention on the long-running piracy phenomenon off Somalia that has hiked shipping insurance costs and disrupted international trade.
America investigates
The standoff has forced U.S. President Barack Obama to focus on a place most Americans would rather forget. A U.S. intervention in Somalia in the early 1990s was a disaster, including the "Black Hawk Down" battle in 1993 that killed 18 U.S. troops and inspired a book and a movie. A White House spokesman said Obama received multiple updates on the piracy situation on Saturday.
John Reinhart, president and chief executive of Maersk Line Ltd, said the FBI was investigating the hijacking in Kenya. "Because of the pirate attack, the FBI has informed us that this ship is a crime scene," he told reporters, adding that the crew will have to stay on board the vessel. It was still not clear how the crew retook control of their vessel, which was carrying thousands of tons of food aid for Somalia, Uganda and Kenya.
A mediator is sent
Somali elders sent a mediator on Saturday in hopes of resolving the standoff between the U.S. Navy and the pirates holding Phillips, a 53-year-old Vermont father of two. "They are just looking to arrange safe passage for the pirates, no ransom," said Andrew Mwangura, coordinator of a regional group that monitors piracy.
Remember, Andy's been jugged at least once in the past year for his association with pirates...
The mediator took to sea in a boat but it was unclear how he planned to reach the pirates.
The gang holding Phillips remained defiant. "We will defend ourselves if attacked," one told media by satellite phone.
Now he can show us how he defended himself against a ventilated head.
Pirates are keeping about 17 captured vessels on Somalia's eastern coast, six of them taken in the last week alone.