US sea captain freed in swift firefight

**Nikos** · April 12, 2009, 01:42 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/piracy

MOMBASA, Kenya – An American ship captain was freed unharmed Sunday in a swift firefight that killed three of the four Somali pirates who had been holding him for days in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa, the ship's owner said.
A senior U.S. intelligence official said a pirate who had been involved in negotiations to free Capt. Richard Phillips but who was not on the lifeboat was in custody.
Phillips, 53, of Underhill, Vermont, was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby.
Maersk Line Limited President and CEO John Reinhart said in a news release that the U.S. government informed the company around 1:30 p.m. EDT Sunday that Phillips had been rescued. Reinhart said the company called Phillips' wife, Andrea, to tell her the news.
The U.S. official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. A Pentagon spokesman had no immediate comment.
When Phillips' crew heard the news aboard their ship in the port of Mombasa, they placed an American flag over the rail of the top of the Maersk Alabama and whistled and pumped their fists in the air. Crew fired a bright red flare into the sky from the ship.
A government official and others in Somalia with knowledge of the situation had reported hours earlier that negotiations for Phillips' release had broken down.
Talks to free him began Thursday with the captain of the USS Bainbridge talking to the pirates under instruction from FBI hostage negotiators on board the U.S. destroyer. The pirates had threatened to kill Phillips if attacked.
Three U.S. warships were within easy reach of the lifeboat on Saturday. The U.S. Navy had assumed the pirates would try to get their hostage to shore, where they can hide him on Somalia's lawless soil and be in a stronger position to negotiate a ransom.
Maersk Line said before news of the rescue broke that "the U.S. Navy had sight contact" of Phillips — apparently when the pirates opened the hatches.

Yay! The pirates got what was coming too them!

Go US Navy!

**Arto** · April 12, 2009, 01:43 PM

*Goes off singing ''Rule America''*

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

**Darsh** · April 12, 2009, 01:51 PM

well done USA

**Mikelus Trento** · April 13, 2009, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Darsh

well done USA

I disagree.

Well done would have been warranted had the USN been on its toes when the captain jumped in the water. His personal risk would have been much much less had the snipers been stationed and ready when he made his own bid for freedom.

I'm wondering why the didn't send a scuba diver silently under the liferaft and quietly bore a small hole thru the raft to make it sink?

**Farnan** · April 13, 2009, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by Mikelus Trento

I disagree.

Well done would have been warranted had the USN been on its toes when the captain jumped in the water. His personal risk would have been much much less had the snipers been stationed and ready when he made his own bid for freedom.

I'm wondering why the didn't send a scuba diver silently under the liferaft and quietly bore a small hole thru the raft to make it sink?

Would have killed the Captain too.

Well the good thing about this incident is US attention is now more on the situation, maybe we'll help more now.

**Holger Danske** · April 12, 2009, 02:17 PM

A happy ending after all... A bit naive, but hopefully this will make other pirates and would be pirates something to think about... Don't

ing Mess With Us...

**danzig** · April 12, 2009, 02:21 PM

Originally Posted by Holger Danske

A happy ending after all... A bit naive, but hopefully this will make other pirates and would be pirates something to think about... Don't

ing Mess With Us...

Well between this and french rescue the other day would think it would send a message but more then likely they will either grow more bold or more violent.

**Anda02** · April 12, 2009, 02:43 PM

Hope fully that will teach pirates a lesson. And hopefully this will ram into their minds we are better equipped, trained, and smarter in one ship then all of them put together.

**Holger Danske** · April 12, 2009, 02:53 PM

Originally Posted by danzig

Well between this and french rescue the other day would think it would send a message but more then likely they will either grow more bold or more violent.

Hence the naive...
But honestly this will not end unless something is done about Somalia. Too bad the West has little interest or stomach for it after what happened in 1994.

**boofhead** · April 12, 2009, 05:05 PM

Originally Posted by Holger Danske

Hence the naive...
But honestly this will not end unless something is done about Somalia. Too bad the West has little interest or stomach for it after what happened in 1994.

That event is blown way out of proportion. It's not like the US is afraid of operating in Afghanistan, for example, because of a few casualties. The reason nobody is particularly interested is because Somalia is a backwards craphole with nothing to offer.

**2-D Ron** · April 13, 2009, 12:16 AM

Where was the UN Peace Keeper boats that were supposed to be hunting these Pirates?
Cig break or something? lol

Originally Posted by danzig

Well between this and french rescue the other day would think it would send a message but more then likely they will either grow more bold or more violent.

Somalia's a mess so I would say they will continue to risk their lives to make money through Piracy until there is some order in Somalia in terms of a working Government.

**Virgil** · April 13, 2009, 12:24 AM

Originally Posted by 2-D Ron

Where was the UN Peace Keeper boats that were supposed to be hunting these Pirates?
Cig break or something? lol

Somalia's a mess so I would say they will continue to risk their lives to make money through Piracy until there is some order in Somalia in terms of a working Government.

There's a true statement - a few years back when the islamists took over they rounded up and stopped piracy pretty effectively. Then Ethiopia and the govt, fought them and kicked them out of the capital before creating their own little iraq. Surprise! When that happened the pirates came back in full force.. Instability does seem to lead to crime.

As for the boats, they are trying but its an awful lot of coast to defend with a relatively small number of boats. If I were them I would coordinate and make up a convoy system. Might take a little longer to form up but its better than getting jacked and being stuck for weeks...

**Caelius** · April 13, 2009, 12:40 AM

Originally Posted by BarnabyJones

Wondering if the security gap couldn't be filled by PMC's. Contracts have dried up all around. They could either operate on the ships, or help patrol the million square miles of ocean that needs patrolling in the region.

I don't think many people are going to cry about PMC's going cyclic on some pirate turds...

Xe Worldwide (formerly Blackwater) is way ahead of you on that. They already have a state-of-the-art contract vessel.

I have no idea if it's actually been hired or not.

**2-D Ron** · April 13, 2009, 12:49 AM

Originally Posted by Virgil

There's a true statement - a few years back when the islamists took over they rounded up and stopped piracy pretty effectively. Then Ethiopia and the govt, fought them and kicked them out of the capital before creating their own little iraq. Surprise! When that happened the pirates came back in full force.. Instability does seem to lead to crime.

As for the boats, they are trying but its an awful lot of coast to defend with a relatively small number of boats. If I were them I would coordinate and make up a convoy system. Might take a little longer to form up but its better than getting jacked and being stuck for weeks...

Absolutely, I just can't believe they've dropped the ball on such a Scale.
The American's also bombed Somali borders not so long back due to reasons that Al Quieda operatives were in the region.
No Working Government, no stable economy which has lead to these Pirates Cashing in the only way they can really.
They know there's a chance that the American forces will catch them and kill them.. But their only alternative is to Starve.

Somalia seriously needs rebuilding so they can start patrolling those shores again.
Your right, it is kind of ironic that once the Warlords were driven out Piracy comes back.

Somalia's not the kind of place to raise a family either.. I heard you could get shot dead for just looking at someone the wrong way.. There were BBC Reporters that entered that Country a year back and their documentary had to be cut short because they were being threatened by local Gangs in the area.

**YukonTrooper** · April 12, 2009, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by Holger Danske

A happy ending after all... A bit naive, but hopefully this will make other pirates and would be pirates something to think about... Don't

ing Mess With Us...

Um, no. When you live in that part of the world where acts of desperation are an everyday part of survival, a few dead pirates doesn't phase anybody, I'm sure.

**Holger Danske** · April 13, 2009, 03:53 AM

Originally Posted by YukonTrooper

Um, no. When you live in that part of the world where acts of desperation are an everyday part of survival, a few dead pirates doesn't phase anybody, I'm sure.

I don't give a damn about those people. They are criminals who endanger civilians as a sort of enterprise and wave guns against warships. They deserve nothing less than 3 bullets. 2 in the chest and 1 in the head.

**Viking Prince** · April 12, 2009, 02:57 PM

This will put to rest the Carter-Obama comparisions -- hopefully. Presidential micro-management is not needed.

**roy34543** · April 12, 2009, 03:02 PM

The thing it almost never happens a hostage is actually killed by hostage takers (unless theres some specific hatred against the hostage) because they need the ransom money to survive. So theyre screwed if they lose the hostage OR if they die from a firefight.
Generally better to give the feeling you might just give a ransom, but never ever do it

**mrmouth** · April 12, 2009, 03:09 PM

This should be an interesting story. I didn't see how they were going to free this guy through an assault, because the boat he was being held on made it look virtually impossible.

**Caelius** · April 12, 2009, 03:14 PM

DEVGRU for the win.

Originally Posted by BarnabyJones

This should be an interesting story. I didn't see how they were going to free this guy through an assault, because the boat he was being held on made it look virtually impossible.

Navy SEALS always find a way don't they...