It is now being reported that the Somali pirates who tried to hijack a US ship earlier today have taken the ship's Captain, Richard Phillips, captive.
USS destroyer Bainbridge is on its way to the cargo ship while the crew try to hold off the islamic pirates. Guardian
When Somali pirates skimmed across the Indian Ocean and muscled their way aboard a US food aid ship today, it had all the hallmarks of a depressingly familiar scene: a hostage cargo ship, a vulnerable crew and a well-organised team of brigands with the firepower and knowhow to seize a ship and demand a fat ransom.[...]
The standoff was apparently defused when the 20-man crew turned on their captors and managed to overpower them, seizing one pirate and sending three others fleeing for their dinghy.
But the episode remained unresolved tonight: members of the crew said the pirates had escaped with the captain in tow, and the crew was negotiating for his return, offering food or anything else. The crew had held a pirate prisoner for 12 hours and released him in return for the captain, but the pirates had not kept their side of the bargain.
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