Captain swims to escape Somali pirates, recaptured
NAIROBI, Kenya: The American captain held hostage by four Somali pirates made a desperate escape attempt on Friday but was recaptured, and officials said other pirates sought to reinforce their colleagues by sailing hijacked ships to the scene of the standoff.
The US also was bolstering its force by dispatching other warships to the site off the Horn of Africa, where a US destroyer shadowed the drifting lifeboat carrying the hostage, Captain Richard Phillips.
The pirates on the lifeboat apparently fear being shot or arrested if they hand over Phillips - who was taken hostage in their failed effort to hijack the cargo ship Maersk Alabama on Wednesday - and they hope to link up with their colleagues who are using Russian, German, Filipino and other hostages captured in recent days as human shields.
Around midnight local time, Phillips jumped off the lifeboat and began swimming, but he was recaptured by the pirates, according to Defense Department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about unfolding operations.
Sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge, which is patrolling nearby, were able to see Phillips moving around and talking after his return to the lifeboat, and the Defense Department officials think he is unharmed.
Negotiations are taking place between the pirates and the captain of the Bainbridge, who is getting direction from FBI hostage negotiators, the officials said. The captors are also communicating with other pirate vessels by satellite phone, officials said.
US Central Command chief General David Petraeus said US warships also are headed to the area, more than 480 km off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast. "We want to ensure that we have all the capability that might be needed over the course of the coming days," he said.
Mohamed Samaw, a resident of the pirate stronghold in Eyl, Somalia, who claims to have a "share" in a British-owned ship hijacked on Monday, said four foreign ships held by pirates are heading toward the lifeboat. A total of 54 hostages are on two of the ships - citizens of China, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.
"The pirates have summoned assistance - skiffs and mother ships are heading towards the area from the coast," said a Nairobi-based diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media. "We knew they were gathering yesterday."
Another man identified as a pirate by three residents of Haradhere also said the captured German ship had been sent.
"They had asked us for reinforcement," said the pirate who asked that only his first name, Badow, be used to protect him from reprisals. "We are not intending to harm the captain, so that we hope our colleagues would not be harmed as long as they hold him."
"All we need, first, is a safe route to escape with the captain, and then (negotiate) ransom later," he added.
AP
(China Daily 04/11/2009 page11)
