Somali Pirates Adrift With American Marine Captain Captive
Somali News Updates
12 April 2009
A lifeboat used by Somali pirates
holding a US merchant marine captain hostage drifted
toward Somalia's lawless coast on Sunday, with US
warships tracking it to keep the pirates from escaping
to shore.
The lifeboat, which has been out of fuel for some
time, had drifted to within 32km of the Somali coast
by late on Saturday, according to US military
officials who said they feared that if it reached
land, the pirates might try to escape with their
hostage.
Somali pirate sources and coastal residents said they
do not think the lifeboat is anywhere near that close
to shore.
The US-flagged Maersk Alabama container ship from
which Captain Richard Phillips was taken last week
arrived safely in the Kenyan port of Mombasa on
Saturday, as a Somali mediator headed to sea to try to
secure his release.
"The captain is a hero," one crew member shouted from
the 17,000-ton ship as it docked. "He saved our lives
by giving himself up."
The ship was attacked by gunmen far out in the Indian
Ocean on Wednesday but its 20 American crew apparently
fought off the hijackers and regained control of the
ship.
Relatives said Phillips volunteered to join the
pirates in a Maersk Alabama lifeboat in exchange for
the safety of his ship and its crew. The four pirates
holding him want $2-million ransom for him and a
guarantee of safe passage.
Three US warships including the destroyer USS
Bainbridge were in the area around the lifeboat.
Military officials said the pirates fired on a small
US craft that approached them from the Bainbridge on
Saturday. No one was hurt and the craft withdrew.
Somalia has suffered 18 years of chaotic civil war,
and the international waters off the Horn of Africa
have become some of the most dangerous in the world. -
Reuters
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