US crew members have retaken their hijacked ship but their captain is still being held by Somali pirates on a lifeboat, reports say.
Pentagon sources and relatives of the Maersk Alabama's 20 crew were earlier quoted as saying the ship was back under control after a struggle.
But later reports emerged that the captain was still in the hands of the hijackers, adrift in the lifeboat.
It was the sixth ship seized off Somalia in recent days.
It is reportedly the first time in 200 years that a US-flagged vessel has been seized by pirates.
The Associated Press reported that they had spoken to a sailor on board the Maersk Alabama who said the crew had retaken the vessel and one pirate had been captured.
But the unnamed sailor told AP that three of the pirates were now holding the captain hostage in a lifeboat.
The ship's owners later confirmed that the pirates were off the ship but holding the captain.
"We are working closely with the US military and other government agencies to continue to respond to this situation as it develops further and will provide additional information as we are able," Maersk said in a statement.
The ship was attacked by several small boats in the early hours of Wednesday in an incident apparently lasting for about five hours.
Maritime officials said the vessel took all possible evasive action before it reported that the pirates had boarded.
More than 130 pirate attacks were reported in 2008, including almost 50 successful hijacks.
Pirates typically hold the ships and crews until large ransoms are paid by the shipping companies - last year the firms handed over about $80m (£54m).
The huge increase in frequency of attacks has forced several navies to deploy warships in the Gulf of Aden to protect one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
Pentagon sources and relatives of the Maersk Alabama's 20 crew were earlier quoted as saying the ship was back under control after a struggle.
But later reports emerged that the captain was still in the hands of the hijackers, adrift in the lifeboat.
It was the sixth ship seized off Somalia in recent days.
It is reportedly the first time in 200 years that a US-flagged vessel has been seized by pirates.
The Associated Press reported that they had spoken to a sailor on board the Maersk Alabama who said the crew had retaken the vessel and one pirate had been captured.
But the unnamed sailor told AP that three of the pirates were now holding the captain hostage in a lifeboat.
The ship's owners later confirmed that the pirates were off the ship but holding the captain.
"We are working closely with the US military and other government agencies to continue to respond to this situation as it develops further and will provide additional information as we are able," Maersk said in a statement.
The ship was attacked by several small boats in the early hours of Wednesday in an incident apparently lasting for about five hours.
Maritime officials said the vessel took all possible evasive action before it reported that the pirates had boarded.
More than 130 pirate attacks were reported in 2008, including almost 50 successful hijacks.
Pirates typically hold the ships and crews until large ransoms are paid by the shipping companies - last year the firms handed over about $80m (£54m).
The huge increase in frequency of attacks has forced several navies to deploy warships in the Gulf of Aden to protect one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
28 comments:
Im sure that these hijacks could potentially become as dangerous as plane hijacking. So to me it would make sense to find a way to increase security or change how we are handling security now to mke sure that these threats are lowered to a minimal.
Goshness this is crazy. The first time i heard this i was in shock. It still blows my mind that grown men would dress up like pirates and try to take over ships because they need money. That's pretty pathetic if you ask me. But i think our government needs to do something about this if its getting to be a bigger problem. The United States is already in enough debt we dont need to get further into it because we're paying off wannabe pirates.
I'm surprised this is the first (recent) pirate conflict with a U.S. ship- I wouldn't think that the pirates would care who owns the ship because they just want the booty, right?
In recent years people have gotten increcingly easy going about the oceans and assume nothing like this will happen. When someone says pirate, most people react with -argh- or blackbeard stories. Movies have glamorised the job. Pirates are, however, real and are once again causing trouble in ocean travel. The hijackings are a serious problem and have to be taken care of very carefully. We cannot afford to have to wonder if our shipments are going to make it to their destination because pirates stand in the way.
I feel that this US hijack is actually good news. America stands up for its citizens when they are in trouble, and this attack will hopefully drive our nation to deploy some forces to secure the area and make it much safer for future vessels of all kinds. Also, hopefully just a US presence there could force some of this violence down that has torn this country apart and ruthlessly taken the lives of thousands of Somalians.
To me thats stupid i would just try yo compromise instead of killing innocent people for a ship. the captain is still being held captive for this non-sense they might as well let them have the ship and get their captain back
Arrrrrrrgh. Pirtes still exist?????
ARRRGHH. Pirates still exist???
Arrrrrrrgh. Pirtes still exist?????
Arrrrrrrgh. Pirtes still exist?????
I didn't know pirates were really really real. I thought that pirates were only real in books and cartoons and pirates of the carribean. Guess i was wrong!!! AGAIN...Anyways i think that if i were to ever be on a boat (which i really should never be on a boat because i have no business being on a boat out in the sea), but if i were to be on a boat and some pirates would try to hijack the boat... they had better come with their "A" game cause im always on the look out for trouble. Just me and my goons that is...
I think this is a great example of why a big effort needs to be made by the countries of this world to make the seas in this area safer. Ships coming from many different countries have been seized in the past and it dosen't seem like the pirates are going to stop anytime soon. with proper precautions as well as protection provided by the navies of these countries, incidents like these could be prevented.
This is a little disappointing that pirates who have at most AK-47's are taking over U.S. ships. I would think after being hijacked three times that the U.S. would learn how to deal with this, apparently they haven't learned yet. I think that the ships losing 80 million is a big enough problem to at least train the crew how to shoot a gun.
What happens to these 'pirates' after everything has been said and done. Since U.S. ships are on open water what laws apply to the criminals responsible for this or do they just get a slap on the wrist? Maybe these ships need to take more precautions in order to prevent these things from happening less frequently.
What happens to these 'pirates' after everything has been said and done. Since U.S. ships are on open water what laws apply to the criminals responsible for this or do they just get a slap on the wrist? Maybe these ships need to take more precautions in order to prevent these things from happening less frequently.
...Is it just me? Or does anybody else have the same question of "why are so many ships being hijacked without somebody doing something about it" swimming around in their head?
This really makes me desperately desire to go to waters around Somalia for vacation. It's like laser tag--and right now, the pirates (yellow team) are owning everybody else (green team).
Maybe they'd respond better if we broke out some rum?
Wow I can't belive a US vessel was captured, we need to start taking extra precautions to prevent this from happening just like terrorist we can't give into these pirates demands.
This is pretty insane. I just got done talking about this with one of my friends about 20 minutes ago. So let me get this straight. He said that when the pirates attacked, the crew took one pirate and said they would kill him if they didn't leave. The pirates said they would leave, but only if they were able to take one of them hostage, and the captain gave up himself. Is that true? Those stats were outrageous, but I don't really see what anybody could do to lessen the number. I just feel bad for the people in Nigeria. Wasn't the ship filled with a whole bunch of medicine that was going straight to them?
I find this article to be funny. We have all of this hi tech stuff and security is always at a maximum, yet we still have pirates out there. This is weird to think that people would risk their lives by trying to rob/capture these ships. We think that pirates are long get but they still continue to do this year after year, when we least expect it.
I just read an article reporting that the captain of the ship has been rescued by the Navy Seals. The U.S. Navy snipers had to shoot down three of the pirates holding him hostage. I'm glad that this crisis has finally reached closure; everyone involved must have been dealing to some serious emotional turmoil. The captain was extremely brave and selfless to let the pirates take him in order to buy safety for the rest of the crew and I and thankful that he survived the ordeal.
I just read an article reporting that the captain of the ship has been rescued by the Navy Seals. The U.S. Navy snipers had to shoot down three of the pirates holding him hostage. I'm glad that this crisis has finally reached closure; everyone involved must have been dealing with some serious emotional turmoil. The captain was extremely brave and selfless to let the pirates take him in order to buy safety for the rest of the crew and I am thankful that he survived the ordeal.
Man...I should stop wearing my pirate socks in protest! Can the US try to use alternative shipping routes? Obviously the costs would be higher, but paying a ransom of $80 million would put a dent on any Hummer...
Wow! PIRATES!!! This is crazy, it seems like something like pirate hi-jackings should be unheard of in this day and age but, as we all know these occurences are beginning to become more common-place then ever before in recent times. The world is expected to and will continue to become an all out danger zone. So the best lesson I can get from this story is, don't become a captain, become a Pirate! Yessss...just kidding;)
That's really something I have not seen or heard of in a long time. I also think that our government should be able to out smart hte pirates. I also think tha we should take more precautions then just a few scatterd war ships so that none of our ships get hijacked. I really do hope that captain is recovered also and this is kind of cool in a weird sort of way !
It isn't like we could predict this happening.
If these pirates continue to capture ships from countries I think the countries will begin to retaliate.
This is scary, but odd. I mean, this could become a lot more serious, especially since no one really expected pirates to make a comeback. it's been 200 years, after all. If there have already been so many ships that have been hijacked, we need to find a way to stop this. Heck, or government pokes its nose in everything else, after all.
These pirates are the hilight of my life right now.
Lucky none of them are like Jack Sparrow, cuz we may lose our dear economics teacher to them.
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