U.S. Ship Crew: Pirates Holding Captain

Americans Overpower Somali Hijackers, Regain Ship; Captain Held Hostage; U.S. Warship Arrives To Assist

(CBS/AP)  The owner of the Maersk Alabama, the American cargo ship held by Somali pirates, says a U.S. Navy warship has arrived off the coast of Somalia.

A spokesman for the ship company Maersk, Kevin Speers, told AP Radio that the destroyer USS Bainbridge was on the scene. He added that the boat with the pirates is floating near the Maersk Alabama.

Speers said Wednesday night that dawn is only a few hours away in Somalia and officials are waiting to see what happens when the sun comes up.

The Maersk Alabama is the first ship with an American crew to be taken by pirates off the Horn of Africa. Crew members were negotiating with the pirates for the return of their captain.

The Bainbridge was among several U.S. ships, including the cruiser USS Gettysburg, that had been patrolling in the region.

Speers confirmed earlier Wednesday that the crew had the Maersk Alabama and were unharmed but the captain was being held by pirates off the cargo ship.

"They're on another boat," he said. He gave no other details.

The second in command, Shane Murphy of Seekonk, Massachusetts, called his wife at 10 a.m EDT and told her that pirates had taken over the ship before dawn local time, she said.

Murphy said that pirates then had taken away the captain and he was now in charge, Serena Murphy, 31, told The Associated Press from her front doorstep.

Shane Murphy's father, Capt. Joseph Murphy, an instructor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, told the AP that he was called by the Department of Defense and told the crew, including his son Shane, had control of the ship back from the pirates.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that according to Murphy, it began with a sea chase.

"They outran the pirates for between three and five hours," Murphy said. "They were finally overtaken, substantial gunfire involved."

The vessel had 20 U.S. nationals onboard before the hijacking, Maersk said.

Andrea Phillips, the wife of Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vermont, said her husband had sailed in the waters off Somalia "for quite some time" and a hijacking was perhaps "inevitable."

A crewmember told CBS News that Captain Phillips gave himself up to the pirates.

A U.S. Navy surveillance plane has now spotted the lifeboat holding Phillips and the four pirates, reports Martin. A rescue mission could easily cost the captain his life, so the plan is to convince the pirates their situation is hopeless and they have no choice but to surrender.

In an exclusive call to the ship, crewmember Ken Quinn told CBS News about how the pirates tried to seize control.

"There were four Somali pirates with AK-47s," Quinn said. "We took one of them hostage in the steering gear room with us and then the other three the captain talked them into getting into a life boat. But now they got our captain (in a) lifeboat. And they got him hostage. They wanted an American captain to hold for ransom. And we're trying to run them down and get them back right now. That's the what - that's the whole story. I've gotta go. I'm piloting the ship."

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Listen: Crewmember Ken Quinn tells CBS News about the situation.

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Colin Wright, who identified himself as a third mate aboard the ship, told the AP by phone that, "Somalian pirates have one of our crew members in our lifeboat and we are trying to recover that crew member."

At one point, the pirates had held the boat and the entire crew of Americans. Wright said: "We're really busy right now, but you can call back in an hour or two."

President Barack Obama was following the situation closely, foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said.

U.S. officials said an American Navy destroyer, the USS Bainbridge, was headed for the scene along with at least six other vessels. The Bainbridge was among several U.S. ships, including the cruiser USS Gettysburg, that had been patrolling in the region but were several hours away when the Maersk Alabama was seized.

The Bainbridge is a guided missile destroyer carrying Tomahawk cruise missiles, torpedoes and two MH-60 Knighthawk helicopters armed with Hellfire missiles.

It was not clear what the military crews would do when they got there. Options could include negotiation, backed by force.

The ship was carrying emergency food relief to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was hijacked, the Copenhagen-based container shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said.

Merchant crews aren't supposed to fight pirates, short of using high-pressure hoses to try to stop them from climbing aboard, said John F. Reinhart, president and CEO of Maersk Line Ltd.

"They (the crews) don't have any weapons, so it would be inappropriate for them to try to be heroes. We'd like them to come home safely," he told a news conference.

It was the sixth vessel seized within a week, a rise that analysts attribute to a new strategy by Somali pirates who are operating far from the warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden.

In speedboats, guided by satellite navigation devices and armed with light weapons, pirates using grappling hooks and rope ladders can board a target and take over an unarmed crew in minutes - with huge profit when they get away with it, reports CBS News correspondent Richard Roth.

Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said that it was the first pirate attack "involving U.S. nationals and a U.S.-flagged vessel in recent memory." She did not give an exact timeframe.

Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, said his son was a 2001 graduate who recently talked to a class about the dangers of piracy.


Somali pirates are trained fighters who frequently dress in military fatigues and use speedboats equipped with satellite phones and GPS equipment. They are typically armed with automatic weapons, anti-tank rocket launchers and various types of grenades. Far out to sea, their speedboats operate from larger mother ships.

The U.S. Navy said that the ship was hijacked early Wednesday about 280 miles (450 kilometers) southeast of Eyl, a town in the northern Puntland region of Somalia.

U.S. Navy spokesman Lt. Nathan Christensen said the closest U.S. ship at the time of the hijacking was 345 miles (555 kilometers)away.

The Combined Maritime Forces issued an advisory Wednesday highlighting several recent attacks that occurred hundreds of miles off the Somali coast and stating that merchant mariners should be increasingly vigilant when operating in those waters.

Since January, pirates have staged 66 attacks, and they are still holding 14 ships and 260 crew members as hostages, according to the International Maritime Bureau, a watchdog group based in Kuala Lumpur.

There are fewer than 200 U.S.-flagged vessels in international waters, said Larry Howard, chair of the Global Business and Transportation Department at SUNY Maritime College in New York.

[charhee]

Why would U want 2 use tranquilizer dart??

[mariannpepit]

They have our captain and we are trying hard not to have him shot by making mistakes. We are smarter than they are and we know what to do. American can out shoot them but there is a captain to think about. His life is in danger right now and we don't want anything to happen to him. Yes, we should not have given their man back because they lied to us however, mistakes happen and now is not the time to hash over it. We will have the captain back and they will be captured. Have patience. We are not playing with kids but older boys who think they are men. American will win this one.

[mariannpepit]

I am sure when these young boys are caught, because they are young, they will be sentenced and it will be long than one year. America knows what to do with them. If you seen their picture, they are just trying to be men and think they can overpower us but they can't and we always win. America is strong and never loses.

[mariannpepit]

We have to be very careful in our procedure. The captain could be shot and we don't want to lose him. Life is precious and he gave himself up to save his crew. America knows what to do and how to do it. We have dealt with wars so we can deal with this situation. It will all be over soon and the captain will be back on his ship.

[MadAsH_ll]

They need to outfit the cargo ships with a 50 mm canon and small arms under lock and key by the captain just like they did during the world wars...This is absolutely stupid....at some point someone is going to lose their life to these dead beats......Then something will be done, but it is a same that it will have to come to that.

[BSChemistry]

If you won?t be tough with Somali pirates, soon or later you?ll find Europeans doing same thing. Till now there are easy money over there.
Escorting each ship is impossible, so arm the ships and hire at least two professional army guys ($4000 month each) and train a dozen of sailors to help them.
Rules of Engagement:
No rules of Engagements. Shoot First and after say HALT.
Reporting and Recording Incidents:
No Record or Report. Just quietly send them in the bottom of the Sea.
http://navysite.de/weapons/mk-38.htm
MK-38 25-mm Machine Gun

[sandymwp]

love you, oldtimer1941. marines rock!!!!!

[sandymwp]

and katie couric (who is obviously addicted to hopium and has drank the kool-aid), get real........embargo???? have we been supplying them with something i don't know about....let's see, maybe that would work with the drug lords too. katie, what world do you live in????

[sandymwp]

this pirate saga is beginning to play like a made for tv movie. let's pray for the U.S. captain's safety, rescue him and then blow these criminals out of the water, along with the reinforcements they seem to have called to assist them. the time has come to arm these ships. an unauthorized person tries to board the ship.........shoot the fool or fools and blow their pirate ship out of the water. they will eventually get the hint and stop this nonsense.

[glenhensley]

To Katie Couric........I just heard your comment on my local radio station about implementing an embargo against Somali pirates. What a useless terrible idea. We should counter attack, plain and simple. That would send a real message to these criminals instead of sending the pacifist message that we will "embargo" you if you kidnap one of our military people or attack one of our ships. Wake up Katie.

[BSChemistry]

If you won?t be tough with Somali pirates, soon or later you?ll find Europeans doing same thing. Till now there are easy money over there.
Escorting each ship is impossible, so arm the ships and hire at least to professional army guys ($4000 month each) and train a dozen of sailors to help them.
Rules of Engagement:
No rules of Engagements. Shoot First and after say HALT.
Reporting and Recording Incidents:
No Record or Report. Just quietly send them in the bottom of the Sea.
http://navysite.de/weapons/mk-38.htm
MK 38 25-mm machine gun

[dumbarky]

WHY DON'T THEY JUST GET UPWIND, AND SPRAY THEM WITH A KNOCK OUT GAS.

[hetup-2009]

We need to put cruise missles on ships and hire Israeli's to hunt down and kill every last pirate, their wives, sons, and daughters. When they are exterminated we can get back to the Muslims

[weedapeapl]

We should give Joe BinBiden a chance to solve this standoff. BinBiden is a courageous VP, he's working hard to behave like Chenney The Great.
Posted by _BaghdadsHere_ at 4:50 AM : Apr 9, 2009

Remember during the campaign when Biden got blasted for saying Obama was "bright and clean?"

[weedapeapl]

What did Bush do during his eight years when NK launched missiles several times and did an underground nuclear test? ****
Posted by incog-nito at 8:03 PM : Apr 8, 2009


Simple question for you: HOW MANY U.S. CAPTAINS WERE TAKEN HOSTAGE BY PIRATES ON BUSH'S WATCH???

All your taunting and name calling won't change the FACT.

Liberals are allergic to facts.

[weedapeapl]

NO U.S. CAPTAIN WAS EVER TAKEN HOSTAGE ON BUSH'S WATCH.

Obama is clearly to blame for this one. IT HAPPENED ON HIS WATCH.

You can't blame Bush for this one.

[weedapeapl]

President Barack Obama was following the situation closely, foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said.

-----------------------------

LOL! After all this time, and all he has to say is he's "following the situation closely???"

Oh, what. Obungle didn't say that himself. A spokesperson had to say that for him.

Obungle is probably sitting with a dazed look on his face.

Or maybe he's just watching TV.

Obama is the worst president in 100 years.

[sandymwp]

well said, guyfrompa50. we don't want to hurt these thugs feelings or restrict their source of income, do we????? wait, we could invite them to come to the U.S. illegally and then set them up with all sorts of benefit programs. liberals, unite!!!

you know what i said before: BLOW THESE THUGS OUT OF THE WATER AND THEIR BOSSES AS WELL IN THOSE "MOTHER SHIPS". I guess you can tell I'm not a liberal mamby-pamby!!!!

Track the mother ship back to its home port and then mine the harbor so not even a fishing boat can use it.

[sandymwp]

Get the captain, then wipe that dinghy off the face of the earth.....let's show these thugs that their game is over. In the future let's arm a few people on these merchant ships. A few failed attempts will cause these criminals to think twice. Come on, 4 men in a rubber boat takes over a huge ship.....let's get real here....should never be allowed to happen. Find the mother ships and blow them out of the water. We all know that these small time guys aren't keeping all these millions of dollars....there are big fish who are either living large or the money is going to fund terrorist activities. Did anyone think to put a trace on these large sums of money. Sounds fishy (pun not intended) to me that this has gone on so long.

p.s. i am a woman and not one prone to promoting violence, but in this case.......TAKE THEM OUT!!!!!!!