Hijacked Ship Arrives Safely In Kenya Port
Cheering and guarded by Navy sailors, the crew of the American container ship Maersk Alabama reached a Kenyan port Saturday evening without their captain, still held hostage by Somali pirates in a lifeboat hundreds of miles from shore.
When asked by a journalist how it felt to arrive in the port at Mombasa, Kenya, a member of the 19 remaining crew who did not give his name said it was "terrifying and exciting at the same time." Asked about his captain, he said: "He's a hero."
"He saved our lives," another crew member said.
A couple of the sailors cheered when the ship pulled up to the dock.
Capt. Richard Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was seized Wednesday when he thwarted the takeover of the 17,000-ton U.S.-flagged ship. He told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin, crew members told stateside relatives.
Phillips surrendered himself to safeguard his men. The crew later overpowered some of the pirates but the Somalis fled with the captain to an enclosed lifeboat, the relatives said.
The Norfolk, Virginia-based owner of the ship, Maersk Line Ltd., said earlier on Saturday that for "security reasons" the media would not have access to the vessel and crew in Mombasa.
In a statement, it said FBI officers at the port would debrief the sailors on board before they disembarked.
Kenyan port authorities said the crew were healthy but upset that they had left their captain behind.
"Still they are feeling sad for having left the captain behind, so I also understand their situation and I did not want to probe too deeply into what happened. They look healthy, they are fine. Healthwise they are OK," Kenya Ports Authority Captain Bernard Odembo said.
The world has been waiting to hear how the crew retook control of their vessel, which was carrying thousands of tons of food aid for Somalia, Uganda and Kenya. There is also huge interest in how Phillips apparently volunteered to board the lifeboat with the pirates in return for his men's safety.
One of the crew showed his anger at the waiting journalists, "There is a man dying in a life boat out there so we can live, so get the f--- out of here, all of you!" he shouted, before throwing a mug at the television crews.
Another crewman wanted reporters to pass a message to loved ones back in the States: "I'm happy, I'm safe," he yelled.
Meanwhile, Somali pirates have hijacked an American-owned, Italian-flagged tugboat with a 16-member crew in the Gulf of Aden.
Shona Lowe, a spokeswoman at NATO's Northwood maritime command center, confirmed that the tugboat was hijacked Saturday morning in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's northern coast when it was towing barges.
She confirmed 10 of the 16 crew were Italian nationals, adding that Italian government officials and the company that owned the vessel were involved in trying to secure their release.
The Foreign Ministry in Rome confirmed 10 of the 16 crew members are Italian. The crew members also include five Romanians and one Croatian, according to Micoperi, the Italian maritime services 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.
Piracy along the anarchic and impoverished Somali coast, the longest in Africa, has risen in recent years.
Somali pirates have been seizing ships with many hostages and anchoring it near shore, where they have quickly escaped to land and begun negotiations for multimillion-dollar ransoms.
They hold about a dozen ships with more than 200 crew members, according to the International Maritime Bureau, a piracy watchdog group based in Malaysia. The bureau lists 66 attacks since January, not including the Alabama.
U.S. Warships Converge On Pirates
U.S. warships are trying to stop Somali pirates from sending reinforcements to a lifeboat where an American captain is being held hostage as the high-seas standoff off Africa's eastern coast entered a fourth day Saturday.
A Nairobi-based diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to reporters, said Somali pirates have summoned assistance from ships they have commandeered (with hostages) from a variety of nations, including the Philippines, Russia and Germany.
The diplomat told the AP that large pirate "motherships" and skiffs were heading in the direction of the lifeboat on which bandits are holding American Richard Phillips, Captain of the Maersk Alabama.
The pirates have threatened to kill their hostage, if the U.S. attacks them, according to a Somali who has been in contact with the pirates.
Underscoring the high stakes involved, France's navy on Friday freed a sailboat seized off Somalia last week by other pirates, but one of the hostages was killed.
A Somali man who said he had spoken by satellite phone to a pirate piloting a seized German freighter told the AP by phone Saturday that the pirate captain had reported being blocked by U.S. forces and was returning Saturday to the pirate stronghold of Harardhere.
Pentagon officials have told CBS News the other pirated ships that were trying to find their colleagues are "no longer an issue," because they're both too far away … and now, there are enough U.S Naval assets in the area to keep them apart, reports CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier.
Defense Department officials have also told CBS News they have confirmed today Captain Phillips is fine, despite his failed escape attempt.
The vice president of the Philippines, the nation with the largest number of sailors held captive by Somali pirates, appealed Saturday 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."
U.S. rules of engagement prevent the Americans using their vastly superior fighting power to engage the pirates if there is any danger to civilians.
The situation is new for the pirates. Normally, they seize a ship with many hostages and get it anchored near shore, where they can quickly escape to land, and then begin negotiations for multimillion-dollar ransoms. Left with only Phillips and a lifeboat that is out of fuel, they are in a vulnerable position.
According to CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips, reports out of Somalia this morning say that a group of clan elders may be trying to mediate in this standoff.
The amphibious assault ship USS Boxer will join two other Navy ships - the USS Bainbridge and the USS Hallyburton, which has helicopters - which are near the lifeboat 200 miles off Somalia.
The Boxer is the flag ship of a multination anti-piracy task force that 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.
Negotiations had been taking place between the pirates and the captain of the Bainbridge, who was getting direction from FBI hostage negotiators, the officials said.
The dangers of taking action were underlined by an attempt by the French Navy to rescue the people aboard the yacht Tanit. Four hostages, including a small child, were freed and two pirates killed when French commandos moved in on the yacht, but the yacht's captain was also killed.
So for now, the U.S. Navy appears to be working on the assumption that time is on its side.
Negotiating With High-Seas Bandits
"The issue is going to be claustrophobia, sea sickness, heat, boredom," Rick Gurnon, president of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, told CBS News. "I think after a few more days in the lifeboat, the Somalis will think going to prison for two years is trading up."
At least that's the hope, said CBS' Phillips. The pirates are demanding their safety be guaranteed should they release the American ship's captain - in addition to, of course, a reported $2 million ransom.
"I'm sure the emotional level on all sides is raised with the warships on the scene," Hugh McGowan, a former commanding officer with the New York City Police Hostage Negotiating Team, said on CBS News' The Early Show. "I'm sure for the hostage takers, they assumed they were going to be in and out and get away without any problems, so now it's much more complicated."
On Friday, Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat and tried to swim for his freedom but was recaptured when a pirate fired an automatic weapon at or near him.
Discussing Captain Phillips' failed attempt to escape, McGowan said such actions are dangerous.
"You never want to be critical of what the hostage does because they're in isolation," McGowan said. "And he probably thought he could make his escape. When we talk to people about, you know, being held hostage, we really recommend that they not try something like this unless they're really 100% - maybe 1,000% - sure they're going to be successful. Even then, think about it two or three more times before you try it, because the rescue is on the way and that's the best way of getting out of it."
Piracy along the anarchic and impoverished Somali coast, the longest in Africa, has risen in recent years. Somali pirates hold about a dozen ships with more than 200 crew members, according to the International Maritime Bureau, a piracy watchdog group based in Malaysia. The bureau lists 66 attacks since January, not including the Alabama.
Current TV correspondent Kaj Larson, who has produced a documentary on modern day piracy, said that Somali pirates in recent years has been reluctant to harm their hostages.
"That's because they have such a good business model going and they're making so much money - between $50 million and $150 million in ransom money last year - it's not in their best interest to hurt the hostages. That's certainly helping the situation right now.
"That being said, these are certainly violent men who are well-armed, and the potential [for hostage deaths] always exists."
Larson said the experience of the French commando raid Friday will affect how the crisis involving the American hostage plays out. "You're going to see the U.S. Navy being patient and being steady and waiting and playing the waiting game, waiting these pirates out."
McGowan, likewise, believes the Navy will not the fire upon the pirates. "Unless the circumstances call for it, I don't see them doing that. They're being advised by the FBI, and our advice always is to be patient."
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