Oh boy, talk about embarrassing? I salute Captain Richard’s attempt at escape, but I think he was probably thinking that the Navy would have taken advantage of the situation and step in to assist. He was probably thinking ‘where is the rescue party?’, as he was desperately trying to swim away.
Worse yet, it sounds like more pirates are coming in to join the party. There should be no contest, and I say capture or kill every last one of the bastards, and end this circus. And for Pete’s sake, have a rescue team ready to go if the Captain makes another escape attempt. Meanwhile, the Khat chewing Somali pirates on that lifeboat are probably tweaking out right about now because they are probably out of Khat. –Matt
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Pirates foil U.S. captain’s escape bid
In other hijackings, French navy storms sailboat, pirates release tanker
Last Updated: Friday, April 10, 2009 | 3:15 PM ET Comments252Recommend72
CBC News
A family photo shows Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt. Now a hostage, Phillips is the captain of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship Maersk Alabama, which was the target of a hijack attempt Wednesday by Somalian pirates off the Horn of Africa.A family photo shows Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt. Now a hostage, Phillips is the captain of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship Maersk Alabama, which was the target of a hijack attempt Wednesday by Somalian pirates off the Horn of Africa. (Associated Press)
The American captain being held by Somalian pirates made an unsuccessful attempt to escape Friday amid reports other pirates are moving more hostage-laden ships to the scene of the standoff.
Capt. Richard Phillips jumped over the side of the small lifeboat where he has been held for two days and started swimming in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Somalia, said officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Pirates recaptured him and a U.S. navy ship patrolling nearby said they saw Phillips moving around and talking after his return to the covered lifeboat.
The incident occurred around midnight local time, said the defence officials, who believe Phillips remains unharmed.
Phillips is being held by four Somalian pirates who were part of a larger group that tried to hijack the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama in waters near the Horn of Africa on Wednesday.
The cargo ship’s crew thwarted the hijack attempt, but the pirates escaped in a lifeboat with Phillips. Reports say the 8.5-metre-long lifeboat has run out of fuel as U.S. naval ships move into the region.