As a freed U.S.-flagged freighter cruised out of Somalia's crime-infested waters Thursday, a tense standoff continued for a second day between a U.S. warship and a tiny lifeboat, adrift with four stranded pirates and the American captain they were holding hostage.
A day after the American crew managed to turn the tables on pirates who had seized their cargo ship, the Danish-owned Maersk Alabama headed for safer waters with 18 armed guards from the U.S. destroyer Bainbridge on board.
Reports suggested that the cargo ship, which is carrying food and other humanitarian aid for African nations, including food destined for Catholic Relief Services programs in Rwanda, was headed to its original destination of Mombasa, Kenya. However, the owner, Maersk Line Ltd., would not confirm where the ship and its crew would dock.
As FBI hostage negotiators joined efforts to free American Capt. Richard Phillips of Vermont, U.S. military officials expressed hope that the situation would end without the need to use force.
"We are trying to resolve this in a peaceful manner," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
The Bainbridge, a guided-missile destroyer, is near the site of the hijacking, as are other Navy ships and planes, including P-3 surveillance planes and helicopters, Whitman said. "We do have U.S. naval assets in the vicinity," he said. "The Navy is there to help resolve this situation."
The Bainbridge has launched an unmanned drone called a ScanEagle, which is providing a real-time video feed of the lifeboat. The military cannot see the captain or the pirates directly because the boat is covered. However, the ScanEagle can carry an infrared camera that might provide information about where the pirates and the captain are on the 24-foot craft.
The warship has contact by telephone and radio with the lifeboat, which is floating nearby after having run out of fuel, Maersk Line officials said. Phillips apparently has not been harmed, they said.
The Maersk Alabama was cruising about 250 miles off Somalia on Wednesday morning when it was besieged by at least two pirate skiffs. The attack was the first on a U.S.-registered ship off Africa in more than 200 years, though pirate attacks have occurred off Somalia's coast for years.
Shortly after pirates scaled the hull of the cargo ship, the 20-person crew retook control and the pirates fled in a lifeboat with the captain.
