Maersk Line confirmed that the crew had retaken control of the hijacked ship
Pirates who attempted to hijack a US-flagged, Danish-owned container ship off the coast of Somalia have been repelled by the vessel's 20-strong US crew.
But the pirates, who attempted the hijack about 450km off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday, managed to capture the captain Richard Phillips and were holding him hostage.
The high seas standoff caused Hillary
Clinton, the US secretary of state, to express concern and call on the world to "come together to end the scourge of piracy".
Early on Thursday, the US Navy warship Bainbridge arrived on the scene and was near the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama as crew members negotiated with the pirates for the return of the captain.
Half a dozen other ships that had been patrolling the area, but were hours away when the hijacking occurred, were heading to the scene.
The pirates had earlier seized the ship, but the unarmed crew managed to retake the vessel as the pirates got into a lifeboat with the captain.
The hijacking was the first involving an American crew off the Horn of Africa.
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
Pirates who attempted to hijack a US-flagged, Danish-owned container ship off the coast of Somalia have been repelled by the vessel's 20-strong US crew.But the pirates, who attempted the hijack about 450km off the coast of Somalia on Wednesday, managed to capture the captain Richard Phillips and were holding him hostage.
The high seas standoff caused Hillary
Clinton, the US secretary of state, to express concern and call on the world to "come together to end the scourge of piracy".Early on Thursday, the US Navy warship Bainbridge arrived on the scene and was near the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama as crew members negotiated with the pirates for the return of the captain.
Half a dozen other ships that had been patrolling the area, but were hours away when the hijacking occurred, were heading to the scene.
The pirates had earlier seized the ship, but the unarmed crew managed to retake the vessel as the pirates got into a lifeboat with the captain.
The hijacking was the first involving an American crew off the Horn of Africa.
Courtesy: Al Jazeera
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