UPDATE: Crew member tells AP captain still held hostage
WASHINGTON (AP) - A crew member on the vessel hijacked by pirates is telling The Associated Press that the ship's captain is still being held hostage. The American says negotiations are under way for his release.
The AP called the ship's satellite phone. The man who answered it said the 20-member crew had been taken hostage but managed to seize one pirate and then successfully negotiate their own release.
He says the crew has retaken control of the ship and the pirates are now in a lifeboat. But the man also says that they are holding the ship's captain hostage in the vessel.
The man did not identify himself in the brief phone conversation.
Government officials said details were murky and declined to confirm the report.
Pentagon officials say the American crew may be back in control of a hijacked ship off the coast of Somalia.
Somali pirates hijack a U.S.-flagged cargo ship with 20 American crew members onboard, the first time pirates have seized a ship here with Americans.
Fox News reports:
American crew members aboard a U.S.-flagged ship have regained control of the vessel hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia Wednesday, FOX News confirms.
Defense Department officials confirmed that one pirate is in custody. A U.S. official said the status of the other pirates is unknown but they were reported to "be in the water."
"All the crew members are trained in security detail in how to deal with piracy," Maersk CEO John Reinhart told reporters. "As merchant vessels we do not carry arms. We have ways to push back, but we do not carry arms."
John Harris, CEO of HollowPoint Security Services, which specializes in maritime security, said that the crew's overtaking the pirates could help prevent future hijackings, especially since the military can't be protect the entire high seas.
The Somali pirates, renegade Somalis known for hijacking ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden, are negotiating a purchase of Citigroup.
ReplyDeleteThe pirates would buy Citigroup with new debt and their existing cash stockpiles, earned most recently from hijacking numerous ships, including most recently a $200 million Saudi Arabian oil tanker. The Somali pirates are offering up to $0.10 per share for Citigroup, pirate spokesman Sugule Ali said earlier today. The negotiations have entered the final stage, Ali said. “You may not like our price, but we are not in the business of paying for things. Be happy we are in the mood to offer the shareholders anything,” said Ali.
The pirates will finance part of the purchase by selling new Pirate Ransom Backed Securities (PRBS's). The PRBS's are backed by the cash flows from future ransom payments from hijackings in the Gulf of Aden. Moody's and S&P have already issued their top investment grade ratings for the PRBS's.
Head pirate, Ubu Kalid Shandu, said, “We need a bank so that we have a place to keep all of our ransom money. Thankfully, the dislocations in the capital markets has allowed us to purchase Citigroup at an attractive valuation and to take advantage of TARP capital to grow the business even faster.”
Shandu added, “We don't call ourselves pirates. We are coastguards and this will just allow us to guard our coasts better.”