Rescued captain to reunite with crew tomorrow

MOMBASA, Kenya — As per breaking news, a Maersk shipping official says the shipping captain that U.S. sharpshooters rescued from pirates will reunite with his crew in the Kenyan resort of Mombasa on Wednesday.

The crew that thwarted the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama has hailed Capt. Richard Phillips as a hero who saved them by offering himself up as a hostage.

U.S. SEALs killed three pirates Sunday night in a daring attack that killed the three pirates who had been holding Phillips for five days in an enclosed lifeboat.

Maersk official Gordan van Hook told reporters they expect Phillips to arrive in Mombasa on Wednesday. He had no details about the reunion with the crew.

Meanwhile, undeterred Somali pirates went on a hijacking spree, brazenly capturing four more ships and taking over 60 crew members hostage in the Gulf of Aden, the waterway at the center of the world's fight against piracy.

Pirates have vowed to retaliate for five colleagues slain by U.S. and French forces in recent hostage rescues — and the top U.S. military officer said Tuesday he takes those comments seriously.

But Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told ABC's "Good Morning America" that "we're very well prepared to deal with anything like that."

Despite Mullen's confident statement and President Barack Obama's warning of further U.S. action, pirates captured two more nautical trophies Tuesday to match the two ships they seized a day or two earlier.

The latest seizures were the Lebanese-owned cargo ship MV Sea Horse, the Greek-managed bulk carrier MV Irene E.M. and two Egyptian fishing boats. Maritime officials said the Irene carried 21 to 23 Filipino crew and Egyptian officials reported 36 fishermen, mostly Egyptians, on the two boats.

It was not known exactly how many crew the Sea Horse had on board, but a ship that size would probably need at least a dozen.

NATO spokeswoman Shona Lowe said pirates in three or four speedboats captured the Sea Horse on Tuesday — an attack that came only hours after the Irene was seized in a rare overnight raid.

The two Egyptian fishing boats were hijacked in the gulf off Somalia's northern coast but it was not clear if those attacks came Monday or Sunday.

The Gulf of Aden, which links the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, is one of the world's busiest and most vital shipping lanes, crossed by over 20,000 ships each year.

A flotilla of warships from nearly a dozen countries has patrolled the Gulf of Aden and nearby Indian Ocean waters for months. They have halted many attacks on ships this year, but say the area is so vast they can't stop all hijackings.

Pirates have attacked 78 ships this year, hijacking 19 of them, and 17 ships with over 300 crew still remain in pirates' hands, according to Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

Each boat carries the potential of a million-dollar ransom.

The Irene, flagged in the Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, was sailing from the Middle East to South Asia, Choong said.

U.S. Navy Lt. Nathan Christensen, spokesman for the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said the Irene carried 23 Filipino crew, while Choong reported it had 21 and Greek marine officials said it carried 22. here was no immediate way to reconcile the figures.

A maritime security contractor, speaking on condition of anonymity because it is a sensitive security issue, said the Irene put out a distress signal "to say they had a suspicious vessel approaching. That rapidly turned into an attack and then a hijacking."

"They tried to call in support on the emergency channels, but they never got any response," the contractor said.

The latest seizures come after Navy SEAL snipers rescued American ship captain Richard Phillips on Sunday by killing three young pirates who held him captive in a drifting lifeboat for five days. A fourth pirate surrendered after seeking medical attention for a wound he received in trying to take over Phillips' vessel, the Maersk Alabama.

Phillips on Tuesday was aboard a Navy vessel at an undisclosed location, Christensen said. He was initially taken aboard the Norfolk, Va.-based USS Bainbridge and then flown to the San Diego-based USS Boxer for a medical exam.

In Washington, Obama appeared to move the piracy issue higher on his agenda, vowing the United States would work with nations around the world to fight the problem.

"I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks," Obama told reporters Monday.

The 19 crew members of the Alabama celebrated their skipper's freedom with beer and an evening barbecue Monday in the Kenyan port of Mombasa, said crewman Ken Quinn.

The vessel's chief mate was among those urging strong U.S. action against piracy.

"It's time for us to step in and put an end to this crisis," Shane Murphy said. "It's a crisis. Wake up."

The U.S. is considering new options to fight piracy, including adding Navy gunships along the Somali coastline and launching a campaign to disable pirate "mother ships," according to military officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because no decisions have been made yet.

The four pirates who attacked the Alabama were between 17 and 19 years old, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

"Untrained teenagers with heavy weapons," Gates told students and faculty at the Marine Corps War College. "Everybody in the room knows the consequences of that."

U.S. officials were now considering whether to bring the fourth pirate, who surrendered shortly before the sniper shootings, to the United States or possibly turn him over to Kenya. Both piracy and hostage-taking carry life prison sentences under U.S. law.

The French navy late Monday handed over the bodies of two Somali pirates killed last week in a hostage rescue operation, and the bodies were buried in Somali's semiautonomous northern region of Puntland.

Somali Pirates Hijacked 4 US ships again - Breaking news

According to breaking news, Somali pirates continued to thumb their noses at the world -- hijacking four more ships, even as America's top military commander told esolgsmnews the United States is reviewing its options, including whether to go into pirate villages.

The pirates have now seized four ships since the dramatic rescue of American Capt. Richard Phillips Sunday, who was taken hostage during a failed hijacking attempt.

Just as the cheers were dying down for the daring rescue of Phillips that left three pirates dead, Somali pirates swooped down on more victims. This time they struck in the Gulf of Aden along the north coast of Somalia.

Two Egyptian fishing boats were hijacked, according to Egypt's Foreign Ministry, which said the boats carried a total of 18 to 24 Egyptians.

The biggest overnight prize for the pirates was the capture of the Greek freighter M.V. Irene and a Togo-flagged freighter named the Sea Horse, according to NATO officials. The Irene had a crew of 22. There was no immediate information on the Sea Horse crew.

NATO said that pirates in three skiffs attacked a fifth ship today, the Liberian frieighter Safmarine Asia, with rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, but failed to capture it.

Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur, said pirate attacks this year had risen to 78, with at least 19 ships hijacked and more than 300 crew members still in pirates' hands. Each boat carries the potential of a million-dollar ransom.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States can't end Somali piracy by itself and noted that 16 nations have warships in the region, which is roughly four times the size of Texas.

When Mullen was asked today whether the United States had considered attacking the pirate strongholds in Somalia, the admiral said, "I've asked, and we've been doing this. We've initiated a review on the Joint Staff to look broadly and widely and deeply at the overall strategy," he told ABC's "Good Morning America."

One problem in taking on pirates is what to do with them once they are arrested, Mullen said. There is a deal with Kenya to try pirates in court there, but so far, no pirates have been put on trial

The United States is holding the lone survivor of the four pirates who took Phillips hostage and is trying to decide how to handle his legal case.

President Obama said Monday that he was determined to defeat piracy.

"I want to be very clear that we are resolved to halt the rise of piracy in that region and to achieve that goal, we're going to have to continue to work with our partners to prevent future attacks," Obama said Monday.

hostage recaptured - Somali pirates move to aid comrades

MOGADISHU - As per breaking news updates, Pirates sailed a hijacked German freighter toward a lifeboat off Somalia early on Saturday to help four comrades holding an American ship captain hostage under the gaze of a U.S. destroyer.

Separately, French special forces stormed a yacht held by pirates elsewhere in the lawless stretch of the Indian Ocean in an assault that killed one hostage, but freed four others.

Two pirates were killed and three were captured.

More U.S. warships have been sent toward the lifeboat drifting in international waters off Somalia, where pirates have been holding American captain Richard Phillips since an attempt to hijack his ship, the 17,000-tonne, Danish-owned Maersk Alabama, on Wednesday.

Phillips apparently volunteered to get in the lifeboat with the pirates in exchange for the safety of his crew, who regained control of the ship, which is carrying food relief to Kenya.

Phillips leapt into the sea during the night and tried to swim away but at least one pirate quickly followed and he was hauled back onto the lifeboat, a U.S. official said.

"He didn't get very far," the official told Reuters.

Close by, the destroyer USS Bainbridge launched drones that monitored the incident and kept radio contact with the pirates. The Bainbridge, which is leading negotiations for Philips' release, is seeking a peaceful outcome to the standoff with the assistance of FBI experts, a U.S. official said.

The pirate gang holding Phillips remained defiant despite the arrival of U.S. and other naval ships in the area.

"We are not afraid of the Americans," one of the pirates told Reuters by satellite phone. "We will defend ourselves if attacked."

$2 MILLION RANSOM

The pirates are demanding $2 million for his release and a guarantee of their own safety, a pirate source said.

The source told Reuters from the Somali fishing port of Haradheere that another group who hijacked the 20,000-tonne German container vessel, the Hansa Stavanger, a week ago were heading to the scene of the standoff.

"Knowing that the Americans will not destroy this German ship and its foreign crew, they hope they can meet their friends on the lifeboat," said the pirate, who has given reliable information in the past but asked not to be named.

The German ship was seized off south Somalia between Kenya and the Seychelles and has a crew of 24.

Officials in Washington confirmed that reinforcements were nearby. The frigate USS Halyburton, equipped with guided missiles and helicopters, and a German frigate had arrived in the area of the standoff, they said.

The USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, was also heading for the lifeboat's general area, mainly in case its medical facilities were required.

In France, the government stood by its raid to free the sailing boat, which was hijacked en route to Zanzibar last weekend with two couples and a 3-year-old child aboard.

"During the operation, a hostage sadly died," said French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office. But it said the president "confirms France's determination not to give into blackmail and to defeat the pirates.

LAWLESS WATERS

Phillips is one of about 270 hostages being held by Somali pirates preying on the busy sea-lanes of the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

Somalia has suffered 18 years of civil conflict since warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and the international waters off the Horn of Africa have become some of the most dangerous in the world.

Last year there were 42 ship hijackings off Somalia, which disrupted shipping, delayed food aid to East Africa and raised insurance costs. Some cargo ships have been diverted to travel around South Africa instead of through the Suez Canal.

The hijackings brought a massive international response, with ships from the United States, Europe, China, Japan and others flocking to the region to protect the sea routes.

Maritime groups say the likeliest outcome from the U.S. hostage saga is a negotiated solution, possibly involving safe passage in exchange for the captive.

U.S. Somalia expert Ken Menkhaus said the best outcome would be for the German ship to be allowed to pick up Phillips and his captors and take them to shore, and for a ransom to be paid for the American.

"It would mean no loss of life and no risk to the lives of the other hostages. And at the end of the day an insurance company would be out $2 million -- probably just $1 million after negotiations," Menkhaus said.

Somali pirates seized US cargo ship

WASHINGTON — As per breaking news, a high-seas drama unfolded off the coast of Africa on Wednesday, as Somali pirates seized a United States-flagged cargo ship and held 20 American sailors hostage. The crew managed to retake the ship within hours, but not before the pirates had spirited away the ship’s captain and held him for ransom.

An episode that at times seemed ripped from the pages of a Robert Louis Stevenson novel had its own 21st-century twists: the pirates conducted ransom negotiations using satellite telephones, and a United States Navy guided missile destroyer and other warships were sent to aid the hostages.

The unarmed container ship, the Maersk Alabama, was the first American vessel to be captured in a wave of pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa, one of the most notoriously lawless stretches of international waters.

But by Thursday morning local time, more than 15 hours after the pirates first took control of the Alabama, the talks were still at a standstill. The destroyer, the Bainbridge, arrived at the site before dawn, said Kevin Speers, a spokesman for the company that owns the Alabama.

There have already been more than 60 attacks this year off the Somali coast, with more than 16 ships still in pirates’ hands as ransom negotiations continue, according to a spokesman for the United States Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

In this case, however, the crew of the Alabama managed to disable the ship at about the time the pirates came on board, according to a senior American military official.

Sitting dead in the water without anywhere to go with their prize — and soon to be in the cross hairs of the American military — the four hijackers appeared to have been overrun by the ship’s crew and forced to adopt a new strategy. They loaded the ship’s captain into a lifeboat, shoved off from the cargo ship and began negotiating for his release.

The captain was identified as Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt.

American officials praised the crew’s decision to disable the ship. The Alabama’s second in command, Capt. Shane Murphy, is the son of an instructor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy who teaches a course on how to repel pirate attacks.

In a video interview with The Cape Cod Times, Capt. Joseph Murphy said his son was well trained and knew the dangers of the sea. The younger Captain Murphy spoke to his father’s class just a few weeks ago, shortly before boarding the ship that was hijacked Wednesday.

“He was prepared,” Captain Murphy said. “He knew and understood what the risks were. He also has the skills, obviously, to execute a plan.”

Maersk Line Ltd., based in Norfolk, Va., is one of the Defense Department’s primary shipping contractors, although it was not under contract with the department at the time of the hijacking, a military spokesman said.

At the White House, military and national security officials tracked the developments from the Situation Room, and they provided several briefings to President Obama and other administration officials throughout the day.

Mr. Obama first learned of the hijacking early on Wednesday morning after he returned to the White House from his overseas trip, and he later convened an interagency group on maritime safety, aides said. The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said, “Our top priority is the personal safety of the crew members on board.”

The treacherous waters off the Horn of Africa are now patrolled by an international antipiracy armada of about 15 naval vessels, including 3 United States Navy ships.

But with most of the patrol vessels concentrated in the narrow Gulf of Aden, the pirates have expanded their reach into the open seas. At the time of the attack on the Maersk Alabama, the closest patrol vessel was about 300 nautical miles away, a Navy spokesman said.

“It’s that old saying: where the cops aren’t, the criminals are going to go,” said Lt. Nathan Christensen, a Fifth Fleet spokesman. “We patrol an area of more than one million square miles. The simple fact of the matter is that we can’t be everywhere at one time.”

While most of the pirate attacks off the Somali coast have ended peacefully, there have been exceptions. A year ago, French commandos seized six pirates during a helicopter raid after the attackers had freed the 30-member crew of a luxury yacht.

The 508-foot-long Alabama was en route to the Kenyan port of Mombasa and was carrying food and other agricultural materials for the World Food Program, a United Nations agency, and other clients, including the United States Agency for International Development.

The Alabama was on a regular rotation through the Indian Ocean from Salalah, a city in southwestern Oman, to Djibouti, and then on to Mombasa, according to the company’s headquarters in Denmark.

The ship, built in Taiwan in 1998, was less than half full, carrying about 400 20-foot containers of cargo like vegetable oil and bulgur wheat. It can hold more than 1,000 such containers, and it was deployed in Maersk Line’s East Africa service network, the company said.

Piracy has become a multimillion-dollar business in Somalia, a nation that has limped along since 1991 without a functioning central government. A Ukrainian arms freighter that was hijacked off Somalia’s coast in 2008, for example, was released in February after its owners paid $3.2 million in cash, which was dropped by parachute.

Armed with automatic weapons, the pirates often attack the large merchant ships from small speedboats, then scale the towering ship hulls with hooks and ropes and overtake crew members, who are generally unarmed.

To extend their reach from shore, the pirates have begun operating from floating outposts known as “mother ships” — often captured fishing trawlers that can serve as bases for the smaller speedboats as they lie in wait.