Negotiators aboard a U.S. Navy warship are trying to secure the release of an American freighter captain who is being held by pirates on a lifeboat off the coast of Somalia, according to Maersk Line Ltd.
The pirates are the same four men who hijacked Capt. Richard Phillips' vessel, the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama, early Wednesday hundreds of miles off the Horn of Africa. The 20-person American crew later regained control of the vessel, which is owned and operated by the Norfolk-based Maersk Line Ltd.
The U.S. Navy, which is in charge of the situation, requested the help of the FBI, and FBI negotiators in the United States are in touch with the crew of the warship, USS Bainbridge, a senior U.S. defense official said.
Phillips has not been harmed, according to Maersk's last communication with the Navy, the shipping company's spokesman Kevin Speers said Thursday morning. Maersk is doing everything it can "to increase the chance of [a] peaceful outcome," Speers said.
"We are encouraged that most of the crew is safe. They have been resilient and courageous throughout this crisis," he said. "But we will remain on watch, staffing our situation room and our family hot line until this situation is resolved and the captain is safely returned."
The Maersk Alabama was on its way to Mombasa, Kenya, loaded with food aid when the pirates attacked it Wednesday. It was the first time in recent history that pirates targeted an American ship.
The pirates reneged on their agreement to exchange Phillips for one pirate whom the crew had captured, according to the second officer of the ship, Ken Quinn. The pirate was released unharmed, according to Quinn, who spoke to CNN on Wednesday via a satellite call.
On Thursday, the Maersk Alabama began a 50-hour journey to Mombasa with an 18-person armed security detail on board, according to Capt. Joseph Murphy, the father of the ship's second in command. Maersk and U.S. military officials confirmed the cargo ship has left the area on Thursday, but would not say where it was heading for security reasons.
