Obama is on top of the situation:
"President Barack Obama was getting regular updates on the situation, said
spokesman Robert Gibbs. Attorney General Eric Holder says the United States
will take whatever steps are needed to protect U.S. shipping interests
against pirates.
The Bainbridge was among several U.S. ships that had been patrolling the
region when the 17,000-ton Alabama, carrying U.N. food aid for East Africa,
was attacked.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090409/ap_on_re_af/piracy_96
US warship watches Somali pirates with US hostage
By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY and MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writers
NAIROBI, Kenya - Somali pirates and their hostage American sea captain were
adrift in a lifeboat Thursday off the Horn of Africa, shadowed by a U.S.
destroyer with more warships on the way in a U.S. show of force. The U.S.
brought in FBI hostage negotiators to work with the military in trying to
secure the release of Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt. An official
said the bandits were in talks with the Navy about resolving the standoff
peacefully.
As the high-seas drama stretched into a second day, the freighter that was
the target of the pirates steamed away from the lifeboat under armed U.S.
Navy guard, with all of its crew safe - except for the captive captain.
The pirates tried to hijack the U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama on Wednesday,
but Phillips thwarted the takeover by telling his crew of about 20 to lock
themselves in a room, the crew told stateside relatives.
The crew later overpowered some of the pirates, but Phillips, 53,
surrendered himself to the bandits to safeguard his men, and at least four
of the Somalis fled with him to an enclosed lifeboat, the relatives said.
On Thursday, the Alabama began sailing toward the Kenyan port of Mombasa -
its original destination - and was expected to arrive Saturday night, said
Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy whose son,
Shane Murphy, is second in command of the vessel. The elder Murphy said he
was briefed by the shipping company.
A U.S. official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity
of the situation, said a Navy team of armed guards was aboard the Alabama.
Earlier in the day, the USS Bainbridge arrived near the Alabama and the
lifeboat with the pirates and Phillips. Maersk shipping company spokesman
Kevin Speers told AP Radio the lifeboat was out of fuel and "dead in the
water."
The U.S. Navy sent up P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft and had video of the
scene.
Gen. David Petraeus, head of the U.S. Central Command, said more ships would
be sent to the area because "we want to ensure that we have all the
capability that might be needed over the course of the coming days."
President Barack Obama was getting regular updates on the situation, said
spokesman Robert Gibbs. Attorney General Eric Holder says the United States
will take whatever steps are needed to protect U.S. shipping interests
against pirates.
FBI spokesman Richard Kolko described the bureau's hostage negotiating team
as "fully engaged" with the military on ways to retrieve Phillips.
The pirates were holding talks with the Navy about a peaceful resolution,
said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak on the record.
Though officials declined to say how close the Bainbridge is to the pirates,
one official said of the bandits: "They can see it with their eyes." He
spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of talking about a
military operation in progress.
The Bainbridge was among several U.S. ships that had been patrolling the
region when the 17,000-ton Alabama, carrying U.N. food aid for East Africa,
was attacked. It was the sixth vessel to be hit by pirates in a week.
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Pucker your lips for the Apocalypse!
Johnny Asia, Guitarist from the Future
http://johnnyasia.com
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Post by James Of TucsonIf you were a crew member on a cargo ship and got kidnapped by
desperadoes, the last thing you'd be thinking about is President
Obama.
You'd be thinking about your cornhole, or whether they are going to
cut your hands off before they shoot you in the head.