Somali pirates were Today holding the captain of a US-operated vessel hostage on a lifeboat as a dramatic standoff between the pirates, the crew of the vessel and a US Navy destroyer continued, according to dpa. Pirates on Wednesday seized the Maersk Alabama, with 20 US citizens on board. It was the first time a ship with a US crew had been seized in the pirate-infested waters off Somalia. The crew quickly fought back and regained control of the ship, capturing a pirate in the process. However, the pirates took the captain in the Maersk Alabama's lifeboat. Kevin Speers, a spokesman for Maersk Line, the US company that operates the ship, confirmed Thursday that the captain was still being held. "The safe return of the captain is our foremost priority," he said, adding he believed that there would be a peaceful outcome to the crisis. The USS Bainbridge, part of a coalition naval force sent to combat piracy in the region, arrived early Thursday morning to assist the crew. The crew of the USS Bainbridge was believed to be negotiating with the pirates, although the US Navy Fifth Fleet refused to comment. Speers said the navy was "in control of the situation." US Navy forces are reluctant to storm ships to free crew members being held hostage, instead concentrating on preventative measures. Owned by Danish firm Maersk, the 17,000-ton vessel, which was carrying food aid to Mombasa, Kenya, was taken in the Indian Ocean, around 500 kilometres off the Somali coast. Somali pirates have stepped up their attacks on ships in recent weeks after a brief lull. The Maersk Alabama was the sixth ship to have been seized since Saturday.
