The American sailor being held hostage by Somali pirates managed to jump off the lifeboat where he is being held but was quickly recaptured, US military officials said today amid reports that the pirates have demanded a ransom for his release.
Captain Richard Phillips jumped into the ocean and tried to swim away at around midnight last night, but his captors fired at least one shot, and he returned to the boat. The escape bid was witnessed by the US navy but happened too quickly for them to come to his aid. It was not clear if the pirates had aimed at Phillips, but he is believed to be unharmed.
News of Phillips' daring escape attempt came after the pirates vowed to fight if they are attacked. There were also unconfirmed reports that the hijackers had called in reinforcements.
An unnamed Somali, who helped negotiate a previous ransom, told Associated Press that the pirates want a ransom and are ready to kill him if attacked. He told the news agency he has spoken with a pirate leader on the ground in Somalia who is coordinating action on the lifeboat adrift in the Indian Ocean. He says the plan is to get the hostage to shore to negotiate from a better position.
Mohamed Samaw, a Somali resident of the pirate stronghold in central Eyl town, who claimed to have a "share" in a British-owned ship hijacked on Monday, told the Associated Press four foreign ships previously captured by pirates were heading towards the lifeboat.
General David Petraeus, the head of US central command, said the US navy was also sending more ships - including the guided-missile frigate USS Haliburton - to "ensure that we have all the capability that might be needed over the course of the coming days".
But despite an apparently hopeless position, the pirates show no signs of giving in. "We are safe and we are not afraid of the Americans," one of the pirates told Reuters by satellite phone. "We will defend ourselves if attacked."
The US navy last night called in a team of FBI negotiators to try to secure the release of Phillips, who is being held by four Somali gunmen in a lifeboat some 300 miles off the Horn of Africa.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, said: "We are bringing to bear a number of our assets, including naval and FBI, in order to resolve the hostage situation and bring the pirates to justice,"
Helicopters had also been deployed to the scene, while a P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft was securing aerial footage. "FBI negotiators stationed at Quantico [in Virginia] have been called by the navy to assist with negotiations with the Somali pirates and are fully engaged in this matter," an FBI spokesman said.
Phillips, the captain of the Maersk Alabama, had offered himself as a hostage during a dramatic turn of events in which the gunmen escaped in the ship's lifeboat with their captive after the 20-strong American crew overpowered them and retook control of the vessel.
A pirate named only as Badow told the Associated Press that a "good number of well-equipped colleagues" were heading to the scene to help the pirates escape. "We are not intending to harm the captain, so that we hope our colleagues would not be harmed as long as they hold him," Badow said.
"All we need, first, is a safe route to escape with the captain, and then (negotiate) ransom later," he added.
A spokesman for Maersk, the largest container shipping company in the world, said yesterday that Phillips was believed to be unharmed. His family had gathered at his farmhouse in Vermont waiting for news.
Andrew Mwangura, the head of the East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme, said the Alabama had left the scene and was sailing under armed guard towards Mombasa, Kenya – its original destination – where it was expected to dock tomorrow. None of the crew members were hurt in the attack.
"They will release the captain, I think, maybe today or tomorrow, but in exchange for something. Maybe some payment or compensation, and definitely free passage back home," Mwangura told Reuters.
A stalemate appeared to have been established in which neither side had much room for negotiation. The gunmen know they are likely to be arrested if they give their hostage up while still far out to sea. In Harardheere, one of the notorious pirate strongholds in Somalia, an associate of the gang said that two boatloads of gunmen had left the port to try to assist their colleagues.
"Our friends are still holding the captain but they cannot move, they are afraid of the warships. We want a ransom and, of course, the captain is our shield. The warships might not destroy the boat as long as he is on board."
The Alabama was the sixth ship to be hijacked off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast in a week, and was believed to be the first American-flagged merchant vessel to be attacked by pirates anywhere since the early 19th century.
It is likely that the pirates used a previously captured mothership from which to launch their speedboat before attacking the Alabama. Normally at least nine or 10 gunmen form part of an attack team, and it is not known why just four men armed with AK-47s tried to take the large container ship, usually a difficult vessel to hijack due to its speed and the height of its deck. The ship was carrying thousands of tonnes of food aid, some of it meant for Somalia.
According to second mate Ken Quinn, who spoke by telephone to CNN, the pirates sank their speedboat shortly after boarding the Alabama early on Wednesday. The crew managed to regain control of the ship from the pirates by "brute force", according to another crew member's account. Phillips is reported to have convinced the gunmen to board the lifeboat after agreeing to go with them in order to secure the safety of his fellow sailors.
