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| Africa Horn | |
| Destroyer arrives to assist hijacked U.S. freighter | |
| 2009-04-09 | |
The U.S.-flagged container ship Maersk Alabama was hijacked early Wednesday. The crew recaptured the ship later Wednesday, but Capt. Richard Phillips remained in the hands of the marauders, one of its officers said. "There's four Somali pirates, and they've got our captain," Ken Quinn said in a ship-to-shore phone interview. Phillips was being held in the Alabama's 28-foot lifeboat after the pirates reneged on an agreement to exchange him for a captured pirate, Quinn said. "We returned him, but they didn't return the captain," he said. Hijackers began pursuing the Alabama around 10 a.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) on Wednesday, when it was about 350 miles off the coast of Somalia, according to Maersk. The pirates boarded the ship a few hours later. The 780-foot Alabama was carrying food aid bound for the Kenyan port of Mombasa for USAID, the U.N. World Food Program and the Christian charities WorldVision and Catholic Relief Services when it was seized, the ship's owner said. The pirates were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, while the freighter's crew carried no weapons, Quinn said. The crew -- minus the captain -- locked themselves in the compartment that contains the ship's steering gear and remained there for about 12 hours with their captive, whom they had tied up, Quinn said. The three other pirates "got frustrated because they couldn't find us," he said. The pirates scuttled the small boat they used once they climbed aboard the freighter, Quinn said, so Phillips offered them the Alabama's 28-foot lifeboat and some money. At 7 p.m. ET, a Navy P-3 aircraft flying over the scene spotted a lifeboat, a senior U.S. Navy official said. B.J. Talley, a spokesman for the Maersk line, said the pirates had departed aboard the lifeboat and none of the 20 people remaining aboard the ship was hurt. The ship was then about 215 nautical miles off the Somali coast, Talley said. The Maersk Alabama is the first U.S. ship to be seized in the latest wave of piracy off largely lawless Somalia. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #31 I will be disappointed if a team of seals doesn't pop up out of the water in the middle of the night and smoke all the pirates. Alas, I know I will be disappointed. |
| Posted by: Mike N. 2009-04-09 22:24 |
| #30 I think your "safety in numbers" is illusory. There would be more guns on the hostage. Better to meet the rescue party halfway for a gunnery exercise. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-04-09 18:29 |
| #29 Fishing boats vs. a 500-foot destroyer? I think your "safety in numbers" is illusory. |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-04-09 17:43 |
| #28 Is there anything that would stop a company from advertising armed shipping fleets? Seems to me an enterprising individual/company could offer a much needed service and get paid well for it. Supply and demand, and all that... |
| Posted by: IG-88 2009-04-09 16:54 |
| #27 The position was complicated, according to one western military analyst, by unexplained movement of previously-captured ships towards the area of the stand-off, in the Indian Ocean 350 miles off the coast of Somalia. The pirates could be seeking “safety in numbers” in the face of the threat of US military intervention. “There does seem to be movement of other pirated ships towards the area in question,” the analyst said. “There are a myriad of different reasons why one would do that. There’s apparently some co-ordination going on.” |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-09 16:22 |
| #26 Contacts tell FOX News the Maersk company asked the U.S. military to "stand back" for the moment while it tries to work things out itself, indicating Maersk is willing to pay a ransom in the starting area of $10 million to achieve Phillips' freedom. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-09 16:00 |
| #25 Sea, I don't like it either, and I know at one time the Bainbridge had Marines on it, cause I know one of them. I'm thinking, there are some on it now. They got P3's up, drones, and in my best Vince Flynn story, there just has to be a sub puttering around, with some guys aboard that are outstanding swimmers and know how to snatch and grab. They are in that 28' boat, they just got to be feeling like a mouse between the paws of a big cat. My bet is, they know that those 72 virgins are sounding like a siren calling out to them right about now. The longer they get to just sit on that dead-in-the- water boat, the harder it gets. I've sat on a sail boat with no wind -- it's never fun, and while sitting there, I didn't have a bunch of Marines staring me down. I think those negotiators often times, fill the hostage takers in on just how surrounded they all. Just sayin' |
| Posted by: Sherry 2009-04-09 15:09 |
| #24 Even so, a handful of dirtbags in a Boston Whaler are holding their own against the United States Navy and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I don't like it. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2009-04-09 14:44 |
| #23 This make sense, from a commenter at Blackfive: I keep seeing people griping about the "hostage negotiators," but it's important to remember that professional hostage negotiators are also the guys who do all of the talking, and who tell the hostage recovery teams about the psychological makeup of the targets (and whether to go in "hard" or "soft."). They're also the ones who can often put the bad guys at ease, and let them think they're winning (while the guys with guns are sneaking up behind the targets hostage takers). |
| Posted by: Sherry 2009-04-09 14:36 |
| #22 I would bet there's already a SEAL team onboard. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-09 14:33 |
| #21 I would think there would certainly have to be at least a few sharpshooters on the Bainbridge who could take care of this. If not, I'm sure a few S.E.A.L.s could be found and helo'ed in... |
| Posted by: IG-88 2009-04-09 14:23 |
| #20 The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it had been called in to assist, and its negotiators were "fully engaged." DoJ and FBI involved? Lovely, just lovely. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-04-09 14:22 |
| #19 The Maersk Alabama is again under way to the Kenyan port of Mombasa — its original destination, according to Capt. Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy whose son, Shane Murphy, is second in command. A person reached by The Associated Press by phone on the bridge of the vessel confirmed that "We're moving." A U.S. official, speaking on grounds of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, also said a military team of armed guards was aboard the Maersk Alabama. Joseph Murphy said there 18 guards aboard. Steve Romano, a retired head of the FBI hostage negotiation team, said he doesn't recall the FBI ever negotiating with pirates before, but he said this situation is similar to other standoffs. The difficulty will be negotiating with people who clearly have no way out, he said. "There's always a potential for tragedy here, and when people feel their options are limited, they sometimes react in more unpredictable and violent ways," Romano said. The question now, he said, is: "How much do they value their own lives? Because their only motivation now is to try to survive this incident." Freeing the captain is the priority, and Romano said negotiators may have to promise to let the pirates go to accomplish that. "That might be the end result here," he said. "The life of the captain is the most important thing. We can always apprehend felons later." With one warship nearby and more on the way, piracy expert Roger Middleton of the London-based think tank Chatham House said the pirates were facing difficult choices. "The pirates are in a very, very tight corner," Middleton said. "They've got only one guy, they've got nowhere to hide him, they've got no way to defend themselves effectively against the military who are on the way and they are hundreds of miles from Somalia." The pirates would probably try to get to a mothership, he said, one of the larger vessels that tow the pirates' speedboats out to sea and resupply them as they lie in wait for prey. But they also would be aware that if they try to take Phillips to Somalia, they might be intercepted. And if they hand him over, they would almost certainly be arrested. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-09 14:09 |
| #18 Details from Reuters, who appear to be dazzled by our intrepid Somali swashbucklers... Somali pirates defied international naval powers on Thursday to keep an American ship captain hostage on a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean after their first seizure of U.S. citizens. The increasingly bold gunmen briefly hijacked the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama freighter on Wednesday, but the 20 American crew retook control after a confrontation far out at sea, where pirates have captured five other vessels in a week. Four gang members were holding the captain, Richard Phillips, on the ship's lifeboat after he apparently volunteered to be a hostage for the sake of his crew. Reached by Reuters via satellite phone, the pirates on the lifeboat sounded desperate as they watched a U.S. warship and other foreign naval vessels close to them. "We are surrounded by warships and don't have time to talk," one said. "Please pray for us." The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it had been called in to assist, and its negotiators were "fully engaged." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the lifeboat now appeared to be out of fuel. An East African maritime group said the Maersk Alabama was on its way to Kenya's Mombasa port and would reach there in a couple of days. "We are just trying to offer them whatever we can, food, but it is not working too good," second mate Ken Quinn told CNN of efforts to secure their captain's release. He said the four pirates sank their own boat after they boarded the Alabama. Then the captain talked the gunmen into the ship's lifeboat with him. The crew overpowered one of the pirates and sought to swap him for the captain, Quinn told CNN. "We kept him for 12 hours. We tied him up," Quinn said. They freed their captive, he added, but the exchange did not work. In Haradheere port, a pirate stronghold, an associate of the gang said the gunmen were armed and ready to defend themselves. "Our friends are still holding the captain but they cannot move, they are afraid of the warships," he told Reuters. "We want a ransom and of course the captain is our shield. The warships might not destroy the boat as long as he is on board." Pirates there said two boats full of gunmen had left the port to go and support their surrounded colleagues. "We are afraid warships will destroy them before they reach the scene," one told Reuters. I would say that's a distinct possibility, Blackbeard... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-09 12:18 |
| #17 Back to question #1, wasn't there a time when pirates on the open seas could be sunk at will by any nation? What is the international law on this? |
| Posted by: Keystone 2009-04-09 11:56 |
| #16 The lifeboat's outta gas, so, outside of getting killed, giving up, or taking a free passage deal, it appears our intrepid swashbucklers don't have a lotta options because they aren't going anywhere. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-09 11:50 |
| #15 Phillips was being held in the Alabama's 28-foot lifeboat after the pirates reneged on an agreement to exchange him for a captured pirate, Quinn said. "We returned him, but they didn't return the captain," he said. Did the first officer think of this all by himself or did he rip off the exchange from a TV show? |
| Posted by: ed 2009-04-09 11:42 |
| #14 I hope they call them 'destroyers' for a reason... |
| Posted by: Fester Shomp8074 2009-04-09 11:35 |
| #13 "Hello, I am a Mark 27 Nova Bomb. How may I help you?" |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-04-09 11:00 |
| #12 O'Bambi will say something about this as soon as it appears on his teleprompter. |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2009-04-09 10:50 |
| #11 "The Maersk Alabama is the first U.S. ship to be seized in the latest wave of piracy off largely lawless Somalia." It’s been quite amusing to listen to the talking heads regarding this event. Hopefully 24 hours is enough time for the so-called experts, journalists and diplomats to come up to speed on this topic. As many ‘burgers already know there have been numerous “piracy” events that didn’t involve kidnapping or extortion. Those vessels were overtaken, seized and after the mayhem were abandoned. And it wasn’t simply a bunch of disorganized Khat chewing Skinnies looking for easy Booty. They were coordinated attacks that had all the hallmarks of terrorist training missions. It’s also a leap to believe that the Big Turbans don’t get their cut when a straightforward ransom is their goal. Clearly the new US administration is loath to offend Muslim sensibilities. But the bottom line is this isn’t romantic piracy. It is part and parcel of Islamic Terrorism. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2009-04-09 10:41 |
| #10 Thank God the pirates don't have representation in the UN or they would not only get the captain but the ship and a standing ovation while Susan Rice tries to figure out how to work that translation headphone figgermajig. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2009-04-09 09:50 |
| #9 I heard Madame Secretary babbbling this morning and it occured to me that I probably know more about Somali piracy then she does. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2009-04-09 09:13 |
| #8 I saw on Druge that Shillary was "Deeply Concerned" is that same "deeply Concerned" she expressed about the Norks missile launch? Is there an inflection I am missing? |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2009-04-09 09:03 |
| #7 YardArm + Rope = Success |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2009-04-09 09:01 |
| #6 This is the first U.S. ship to be taken by pirates in 200 years. That's change you can believe in. Fortunately, the crew got the ship back. I'm standing by for the strongly worded letter. That will show the pirates. |
| Posted by: Keystone 2009-04-09 07:00 |
| #5 Maybe if Obama bows, the pirates will take the captain as a captive slave secure in the superiority of the Umma and the proper submission of a dhimmi president. |
| Posted by: Excalibur 2009-04-09 06:17 |
| #4 I forget. How many ships were hijacked by pirates during W's 8-year term? Maybe this is Joe's 'test'? |
| Posted by: Bobby 2009-04-09 06:02 |
| #3 Maybe if Obama apologizes, the pirates will return the captain. |
| Posted by: gromky 2009-04-09 05:31 |
| #2 The Somali president says its fine to attack any pirates. I hope they don't lose the captain! |
| Posted by: Galactic Coordinator Omavising9607 2009-04-09 04:24 |
| #1 Help me out here, guys. Does international law give us a lot more freedom to act when one of our citizens is being held captive? |
| Posted by: Richard of Oregon 2009-04-09 04:09 |