US captain rescued from Somali pirates

INDIAN OCEAN: Increasingly dangerous for tankers. (Getty Images)

US cargo ship captain Richard Phillips was rescued on Sunday from Somali pirates who had held him hostage on a lifeboat after trying to seize his vessel, the US Navy confirmed.

Phillips had been held hostage on a lifeboat after pirates tried to seize his ship, the Maersk Alabama, last week.

The ship's crew of 20 quickly regained control of the vessel, but Phillips, a 53-year-old former taxi driver, offered himself to the pirates as a hostage in order to safeguard his crew.

US officials said Phillips was uninjured and in good condition and - following "a swift firefight" - had been taken aboard the USS Bainbridge, one of three US naval warships which had been tracking the lifeboat.

Phillips was described as being in 'imminent danger' of being killed by his captors before US Special Operations forces fatally shot the pirates.
Three pirates were killed and one surrendered to US forces, said a military official.
 
Ship operator Maersk said it received word of Phillips' rescue from the US Navy at 1330 EDT (1730 GMT) and informed the jubilant crew of the Alabama.

"We are all absolutely thrilled to learn that Richard is safe and will be reunited with his family," Maersk Line chief executive John Reinhart said in a statement.

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