Somali Pirates Update: U.S. Captain Rescued by Navy SEALS

Latest Updates

Friday, 4/10, 9:00 a.m. – Last night U.S. Captain Phillips reportedly jumped overboard from the life boat where Somali pirates were holding him hostage. Adrift in the Indian Ocean after running out of gas, the pirates have called for reinforcements. Meanwhile the FBI has solicited help from General Petraeus to send more warships to the scene. Read the New York Times story here.

Thursday, 4/9, 11:00 a.m. – The piracy saga off the coast of Somalia continues: While the crew of the Maersk Alabama is reportedly safe, its captain, Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vermont, is still being held by the pirates—though he may not be for much longer. According to this report from Reuters, the life boat the pirates commandeered after abandoning the container ship has run out of gas. The four pirates and the captain are apparently adrift on the Indian Ocean. Read more here.

Sunday, 4/12 – U.S. Captain Richard Phillips has been rescued, thanks to a Navy sniper. Phillips is quoted saying: “I’m just the byline. The real heroes are the Navy, the Seals, those who have brought me home.” Read about the rescue in this article in the New York Times.

Wednesday, 4/8, 3:00 p.m. – According to multiple news reports, the 20-man crew of the

Maersk Alabama

has regained control of the ship only hours after pirates boarded the vessel off the coast of Somalia. The hijacking marked the first time in 200 years that a ship flying an American flag had been seized by pirates. The ship's owner, Virginia-based Maersk, and the Pentagon have yet to confirm the reports, but it appears that the majority of the crew is now safe. The ship's captain, however, may still be under pirate control. Read more in this

New York Times article

.

Wednesday, 4/8, 11 a.m. – The Somali pirates have struck again! They took a Dutch contain ship yesterday with at least 20 American crewmembers. That's six boats in three days. They're the hardest working pirates on the high seas.

April is the cruelest month, except if you're a Somali pirate. The scourge of the high-seas went on a tear over the weekend, capturing five vessels in one 72-hour spree. And this despite a flotilla of warships from the United States, China, France, and India patrolling the Gulf of Aden, their usual hunting grounds. The bandits have gone further offshore in their small speedboats than the world's navies could have imagined, thanks to improved weather west of the Seychelles. Graeme Gibbon Brooks, managing director of Dryad Maritime Intelligence, told the Huffington Post that the military coalition is going to be "playing a cat-and-mouse game in the next six months." Until this spree, the pirates had been relatively quiet for the first quarter of 2009, with only five reported incidents of hijackings, according to the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre. But with improved weather, plenty of booty, and a down market, piracy is looking pretty alright these days.