CNN - Pirates have not harmed captive captain, company says

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Pirates have not harmed captive captain, company says

A day after the Maersk Alabama was hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia, the ship's captain "remains hostage but is unharmed," Maersk spokesman Kevin Speers said Thursday morning.

"The safe return of the captain is our foremost priority," Speers said.

Capt. Richard Phillips is being held on a lifeboat -- which is believed to be near the Maersk Alabama -- by the pirates who hijacked the ship. The U.S. Navy has called FBI negotiators to help negotiate his release, according to FBI spokesman Bill Carter.

The pirates reneged on their agreement to exchange Phillips for one pirate who had been captured by the crew members, according to the second officer of the ship, Ken Quinn. The pirate was released unharmed, according to Quinn who spoke to CNN on Wednesday via a satellite call.

Speaking at a news conference Thursday morning, Speers said the U.S. Navy "is in command of the situation."

"We are in regular contact with the Alabama," he said from Maersk Line Ltd.'s headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. "The ship remains at a safe distance as instructed by the Navy. We are coordinating with the Navy and all the governmental organizations involved in this crisis."

Maersk Line Ltd. -- a subsidiary of the Danish shipping company, Maersk Line -- owns and operates the Maersk Alabama.

A U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Bainbridge, is now in position near the lifeboat believed to be carrying Phillips and the pirates. But there has been no official confirmation of the tiny vessel's whereabouts since early Thursday morning.

The Maersk Alabama is back under the control of the remaining 20-member crew. They said they are trying to talk to the pirates and effect some sort of exchange to get their captain back.

For its part, Maersk is doing everything it can "to increase the chance of (a) peaceful outcome," Speers said Thursday.

"We are encouraged that most of the crew is safe, they have been resilient and courageous throughout this crisis," he said. "But we will remain on watch, staffing our situation room and our family hotline until this situation is resolved and the captain is safely returned."

The Maersk Alabama was on its way to the Kenyan port of Mombasa loaded with food aid when the pirates attacked it Wednesday morning. It was the first time in recent history that pirates targeted a U.S.-flagged ship.

The ship was some 350 miles off the coast of Somalia, a distance that used to be considered safe from pirate attacks.

The U.S. Navy issued a warning several days ago to ships in the area warning them that pirates were increasingly operating farther and farther offshore.

Quinn told CNN that the pirates were armed with AK-47 assault rifles. The ship's crew carried no weapons.

Crew members managed to take one of the four pirates hostage, Quinn said. The crew -- apparently minus the captain -- locked themselves in the compartment that contains the ship's steering gear, where they remained for about 12 hours with their captive, whom Quinn said they had tied up.

The three other pirates "got frustrated because they couldn't find us," he said.

The pirates had scuttled the small boat they used to reach the ship, Quinn said, so Phillips offered them the Alabama's 28-foot lifeboat and some money.

Crew members agreed to exchange their captive pirate in exchange for Phillips, Quinn said, but the pirates reneged on their agreement.

"We returned him, but they didn't return the captain," Quinn said.

It is common for the crews of merchant vessels to travel through the area unarmed, despite the risk of pirate attacks, experts have said. An armed crew could provoke a firefight that would endanger the crew's lives or its cargo, which often contains flammable or explosive material.

John Reinhart, chief executive and president of Maersk Line Ltd., said the crew can try to outrun the pirate boats or turn fire hoses on anyone trying to board the ship, "but we do not carry arms."

The vessel was carrying relief supplies for USAID, the U.N. World Food Program and the Christian charities WorldVision and Catholic Relief Services. The U.N. agency said its portion of the cargo included nearly 4,100 metric tons of corn-soya blend bound for Somalia and Uganda, and another 990 metric tons of vegetable oil for refugees in Kenya.