Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it
exclusively produces is in the public domain.
April 12, 2009

Efforts Continue to Free US Captain From Somalia Pirates
--------------------------------------------------------

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=2386AD2:A6F02AD83191E160D6095F8780881DC15C6F54A6CF9DC2CA&
 
US officials say the enclosed lifeboat carrying Richard Phillips and the
Somali pirates was about 32 kilometers off the coast of Somalia as of
early Sunday 
Negotiations are continuing in the effort to free an
American cargo ship captain who is drifting off the coast of Somalia
in a lifeboat with his pirate captors. 

Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt., is seen in this family photo
released on 08 Apr 2009U.S.
officials say the enclosed lifeboat carrying Richard Phillips and the
Somali
pirates was about 32 kilometers off the coast of Somalia
as of early Sunday. They say
negotiations for his release are ongoing, though it is unclear who is
conducting the talks.

Phillips' ship, The Maersk Alabama and its 19-member
American crew is in Mombasa, Kenya
where it arrived late Saturday. The crew credits captain Phillips with
saving
their lives by giving himself up to the kidnappers. The crew members
remain on board as federal
investigators inspect the ship and question them about the attack. 

The ship is carrying a cargo of food aid for African
refugees.

The head of the Maersk company, John Reinhart, told
reporters in Norfolk, Virginia,
that the next step is to send the crew members home, and rescue the
hostage 

The pirates have fired weapons to foil an escape attempt by
Phillips and a rescue attempt by sailors on one of the nearby ships. No
injuries have been reported.

Meanwhile, in the Gulf of Aden,
pirates have seized an Italian-flagged tugboat and its crew, consisting
of 10
Italians, five Romanians, and one Croat.

There has been a sharp increase in pirate attacks off Somalia
in recent weeks, despite international naval missions to stop them. Law
enforcement in Somalia
is weak, making it a convenient place to stage offshore attacks on busy
trade
routes and then escape inland.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.


.