A US Navy destroyer and other several warships have arrived on the scene to help rescue a US-flagged boat that was hijacked by Somali pirates, said local reports on Wednesday.
According the company that owns the hijacked "Maersk Alabama," the destroyer USS Bainbridge and about six other warships arrived at the scene early on Thursday in local time, found that pirates were on a lifeboat floating near the ship with the captain in their hostage.
The company also said that the Navy officials were waiting to see what happens when the sun comes up.
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This undated image shows the 17,000-ton container ship Maersk Alabama, when it was operating under the name Maersk Alva, which has been hijacked by Somalia pirates with 20 crew members aboard, Wednesday April 8, 2009, while sailing from Salalah in Oman to the Kenyan port of Mombassa via Djibouti.[Xinhua] |
Earlier in the day, the US government confirmed that the "Maersk Alabama" with 20 American sailors, which was en route to Mombasa, Kenya, to deliver food aid of the World Food Program to regfugees there, was hijacked 500 kilometers off Somalia's coast, the first pirate attack on American citizens in more than 200 years.
However, the crew of the Alabama recaptured their ship from the pirates and seized one of pirates, but their captain was taken hostage by other pirates.
US presidential foreign policy adviser Denis McDonough said that President Barack Obama is following the situation closely.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also called for more international cooperation to deter piracy when she met with Moroccan Foreign Minister Taib Fassi-Fihri on Wednesday.
"We worked to end piracy off the coast of Morocco all those years ago, and we are going to work together to end that kind of criminal activity anywhere on the high seas," she said.
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Maersk line Ltd, CEO, John Reinhart speaks to the media about the pirate attack on the Maersk Alabama off the East coast of Somalia in Norfolk, Virginia. A US cargo ship's crew ferrying food to African refugees battled against Somali pirates, pleading for the return of their captive captain and desperately holding out for military help. [Xinhua] |
(Xinhua News Agency April 9, 2009)
