US ship in stand-off with Somali pirates
A US warship muscled in Thursday on a high-seas standoff, after the American crew of an aid ship wrested control back from Somali pirates who are now holding their captain hostage on a lifeboat. Skip related content
A stand-off was continuing on Thursday between a US navy destroyer and pirates holding a US-flagged ship’s captain hostage, amid signs other pirate-held ships were being moved towards the area.
The USS Bainbridge arrived at the scene on Thursday morning to monitor events aboard the pirate-held lifeboat, containing four pirates and Richard Philips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, the first US-flagged ship to be seized by Somali pirates. The lifeboat ran out of fuel shortly after the pirates left the Maersk Alabama with it on Wednesday following a struggle with the vessel’s 20-strong crew of US citizens.The crew had handed over a pirate they had held hostage in a deal that would have seen Mr Philips returned, but the pirates reneged on the deal and left in a lifeboat with him, only to run out of fuel only a short distance away.Maersk Line Ltd, the US subsidiary of Denmark’s AP Møller-Maersk that owns the Maersk Alabama, said the situation had remained much the same throughout the night.“Our main concern remains the safe return of the captain and our latest communications with the ship indicate that he is unharmed,” Maersk Line Ltd said. “We are working closely with all involved government agencies, particularly the US Navy, which has arrived on the scene and is taking the lead in working toward the captain’s release.”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...more..http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f8646672-244d-11de-9a01-00144feabdc0.html
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