U.S. ship reaches Kenya minus kidnapped captain

Sunday 12th April, 06:42 AM JST

MOMBASA —

Cheering and guarded by Navy Seals, the crew of an American ship reached a Kenyan port Saturday evening without their captain, still held hostage by Somali pirates in a lifeboat hundreds of miles from shore.

Capt Richard Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was seized Wednesday when he thwarted the takeover of the 17,000-ton U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, which was carrying food aid for hungry people in Somalia, Rwanda and Uganda.

A U.S. military official said that early Saturday the pirates in the lifeboat believed to be armed with pistols and AK-47s fired a few shots at a small Navy vessel that had approached, possibly to conduct reconnaissance. No one was hurt and the Navy vessel turned away, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The U.S. sailors did not return fire, he said. The U.S. had not approached in a rescue attempt, he said.

Crew members said that as the pirates boarded his cargo ship, Phillips had told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men.

“He saved our lives!” second mate Ken Quinn, of Bradenton, Florida, declared from the ship as it docked in the resort and port city of Mombasa. “He’s a hero.”

The crew later overpowered some of the pirates but the Somalis fled with Phillips to an enclosed lifeboat, the relatives said.

Quinn told reporters the experience was “terrifying and exciting at the same time.”

Not everybody on the ship was ecstatic, however. One man looked out at the assembled journalists who were shouting questions at him, and after a pause said: “You’re a bunch of ... leeches.” Later, facing the crowd again from the ship, he added: “Don’t disrespect these men like that. They’ve got a man out on a lifeboat dying so we can live.”

The Italian tugboat was hijacked in a new attack in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia’s north coast Saturday as it was pulling barges, said Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman at NATO’s Northwood maritime command center outside London.

The Foreign Ministry in Rome confirmed 10 of the 16 crew members are Italian. The others are five Romanians and a Croatian, according to Micoperi, the Italian company that owns the ship.

“We received an e-mail from the ship saying ‘We are being attacked by pirates,’ and after that, nothing,” Silvio Bartolotti, the owner of the company, told The Associated Press.

The two hijackings did not take place near each other.

“This is just the Somali pirate machine in full flow,” said Graeme Gibbon-Brooks, founder of Dryad Maritime Intelligence Ltd..

The president of the company that owns the Maersk Alabama called it a crime scene and said that crew members had to remain aboard while the FBI investigates the attack.

John Reinhart of Maersk Shipping Line said crew members were provided phones so they could stay in touch with family members.

Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat and tried to swim for his freedom on Friday but was recaptured when a pirate fired an automatic weapon at or near him, according to U.S. Defense Department officials speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about the sensitive, unfolding operations.

A Nairobi-based diplomat who receives regular briefings on the situation said the four pirates holding Phillips had tried to summon other pirates from the Somali mainland. The diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters, said that pirates had been trying to reach the lifeboat.

He said that at least two American ships and U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft had been attempting to deter pirate ships and skiffs from contact with the lifeboat but he did not know if the pirates and Navy ships had come into contact.

Abdirahman Osman, a resident of the town who says he knows the pirates well, said some had returned home later Saturday, looking tired. He said the pirates told him they had abandoned their plan to help fellow bandits on the lifeboat because it was surrounded by U.S. forces.

A Pentagon official who spoke on condition of anonymity declined to comment on whether the U.S. Navy had turned back the pirates.

The captain of the USS Bainbridge has been getting direction from FBI hostage negotiators and talks have taken place between him and the pirates, U.S. officials said.

The Bainbridge was joined Friday by the USS Halyburton, which has helicopters, and the huge, amphibious USS Boxer was expected soon after, the defense officials said. The Boxer, the flagship of a multination anti-piracy task force, resembles a small aircraft carrier. It has a crew of more than 1,000, a mobile hospital, missile launchers and about two dozen helicopters and attack planes.

On Friday, the French navy freed a sailboat seized off Somalia last week by other pirates, but one of the hostages was killed.

The vice president of the Philippines, the nation with the largest number of sailors held captive by Somali pirates, appealed for the safety of hostages to be ensured in the standoff.

“We hope that before launching any tactical action against the pirates, the welfare of every hostage is guaranteed and ensured,” said Vice President Noli de Castro. “Moreover, any military action is best done in consultation with the United Nations to gain the support and cooperation of other countries.”

France’s defense minister promised an autopsy and investigation into the death of the hostage killed during the commando operation, which freed four other captives and was prompted by threats the passengers would be executed. Two pirates also were killed. Three pirates were captured and are to be brought to France for criminal proceedings.

Somali pirates are holding about a dozen ships with more than 200 crew members, according to the Malaysia-based International Maritime Bureau, a piracy watchdog group. The bureau lists 66 attacks since January, not including the Alabama.

___

Associated Press writers who contributed to this report include Mohamed Olad Hassan and Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu, Somalia; Michelle Faul and Tom Maliti in Nairobi, Kenya; Robert Burns in Washington; Ariel David in Rome; Constant Brand in Brussels; Matt Apuzzo and Robert Burns in Washington; Oliver Teves in Manila, Philippines; and Pierre-Yves Roger in Paris.

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Latest 15 of 19 Total Comments Show All

likeitis at 01:28 PM JST - 12th April

Unfortunately, pirates/terrorists often don't give a rat's behind about their captors.

Any make-believe sort of statement to justify violent action, eh Sarge?

First of all, pirates and terrorists are hardly synonymous (that means they are not nearly the same). Terrorists do not have a set gameplan of taking captives for profit. Second, these particular pirates tend to take good care of their captives when they can expect a ransom.

You know, I don't know anything about this captain. But I wish some people with brave words about how some deaths cannot be avoided would go trade themselves for him so we can attack the pirates guilt free.
Loki520 at 02:30 PM JST - 12th April

Negotiating with pirates? THIS is the "smart diplomacy" that the Obama administration promised us?

There should only be 1 set of negotiations. Do you prefer to die via aircraft strike, or would you rather have a missile launched at your dumb butt by a ship?
SuperLib at 03:24 PM JST - 12th April

likeitis: these particular pirates tend to take good care of their captives when they can expect a ransom.

And when they don't expect a ransom, they don't do it anymore.
likeitis at 03:36 PM JST - 12th April

SuperLib: And when they don't expect a ransom, they don't do it anymore.

I hope it did not take you too long to figure that out Super.

So which is more important: the money or the captian?
Madverts at 03:48 PM JST - 12th April

"So which is more important: the money or the captian?"

Neither - the most important is to see these bastards hanging from the yard-arm, whether the poor captain becomes unfortunate collateral damage or not.

This is a rare moment when I would have rather seen Bush deal with the pirates. The US needs to stop pussy-footing around and scuttle the boat - the sheer gall to take on the US Navy from a lifeboat with 4 AK47's truly shows how emboldened this scum have become.
Madverts at 04:07 PM JST - 12th April

"What would he have done?"

Refused to negotiate with pirates that have already shown, have no woird or honour.
Madverts at 04:52 PM JST - 12th April

Maybe afterall they should ask the French to deal with this....
SuperLib at 10:11 PM JST - 12th April

Uh, likeitis.....what I was saying was that when they expect no ransom they stop kidnapping people...
TexasAggie at 10:42 PM JST - 12th April

11 reporters worked on this story and not one of them could get a comment from Obama?

What's he doing to resolve this situation? Hoping that Capt. Jack Sparrow will rescue Phillips?

Someone needs to tell Obama that hiding under his desk doesn't make him look very presidential.
Den Den at 12:20 AM JST - 13th April

Malverts, like all US military (mis)adventures...they fail in the end. 4 AKs an a couple of RPGs can defeat the US navy, as proven. How about the USS Cole? Black Hawk...
Suzu1 at 02:37 AM JST - 13th April

A military operation has been carried out and Phillips has been rescued. Three of the pirates were killed; one is in custody.
JoeBigs at 09:26 AM JST - 13th April

teleprompter at 11:18 AM JST - 12th April Obama is waiting for the moderates among these pirates to make themselves known. He will reach out to them. The world will swoon at his awesomeness.

As usual your prophecy did not come true. Not only were 3 out of 4 pirates killed, it was President Obama that gave the okay to use force if the Captain's life appeared to be in immediate danger.

Your far right visions need better insight...LOL
JoeBigs at 09:30 AM JST - 13th April

TexasAggie at 10:42 PM JST - 12th April 11 reporters worked on this story and not one of them could get a comment from Obama? What's he doing to resolve this situation? Hoping that Capt. Jack Sparrow will rescue Phillips? Someone needs to tell Obama that hiding under his desk doesn't make him look very presidential.

So I do not think President Obama is hiding at all. What ya think? Hell why do I ask, you'll most likely try to give Bush credit for this. LOL

Another far right winger who could not say a darn thing good about President Obama.LOL
Loki520 at 04:43 PM JST - 13th April

it was President Obama that gave the okay to use force if the Captain's life appeared to be in immediate danger.

It was Obama that allowed the military to be deployed, but NOT SPECIFICALLY to use force. It is STANDARD MILITARY RULES OF ENGAGEMENT that state a life in danger may be defended, and these do NOT require the concurrence of the CinC. The on-scene commander is the one that made the call to use force.

Obama was correct to deploy the military. Don't try and make it sound like anymore than it actually was.
JoeBigs at 08:50 PM JST - 13th April

Loki520 at 04:43 PM JST - 13th April it was President Obama that gave the okay to use force if the Captain's life appeared to be in immediate danger. It was Obama that allowed the military to be deployed, but NOT SPECIFICALLY to use force. It is STANDARD MILITARY RULES OF ENGAGEMENT that state a life in danger may be defended, and these do NOT require the concurrence of the CinC. The on-scene commander is the one that made the call to use force.

Obama was correct to deploy the military. Don't try and make it sound like anymore than it actually was.

You would be correct is this was not an extremely sensitive situation. I know that in the world of the far right President Obama is a bad bad person and a terrible leader. But in this case, President trumps Captain...

Let me help you out a bit as to what happened and why President Obama was asked for permission to use force against the pirates.

Well it turns out that many there are a few ships and their crews being held captive. There is something called D.I.P.L.O.M.A.C.Y that he has been using to make sure that our actions do not cause more loss of life.

Now I know that that bad word (D.I.P.L.O.M.A.C.Y.) is not in the far right wing users handbook. But this President was hoping that his people could end this without getting our friends citizens killed off in retaliations against other hostages.

Let me help you get the big picture so that you may give our President a bit more credit than you have been told to. Following are websites that tell you a story, read them and be amazed....

You may even discover that A President can tell a Captain what to do. I know I know it is hard to believe but he can......

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,25326715-5006301,00.html

President Barack Obama granted the Pentagon's request for standing authority to use appropriate force to save the life of the captain, Gortney said. ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN12491313

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2009/04/if_rightblogger.php

They were pointing the AK-47s at the captain,” said Vice-Admiral William Gortney. He added that Barack Obama had authorised the use of force to end the five-day standoff.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/three-pirates-killed-as-us-rescues-kidnapped-captain-1668025.html