Navy sends more ships to converge on pirate lifeboat

AFP:

The US military on Thursday said it was sending in more ships to the scene of a stand-off with Somalia pirates holding an American hostage on a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean.

A day after pirates hijacked the Maersk Alabama aid ship before being overpowered by the unarmed American crew, the high-seas drama remained unresolved with both the pirates and the US Navy promising to move in reinforcements.

The four pirates were ousted from the 17,500-tonne Danish-operated container ship, but were still holding the captain hostage on a lifeboat.

More naval ships were to join the destroyer USS Bainbridge that arrived overnight to help secure the release of the American, US defense officials said.

"The safe return of the captain is the top priority," Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Washington.

The reinforcements were coming from naval forces already deployed in the wider region, including a counter-piracy task force out of Bahrain, officials said.

"There's more naval assets being moved south from where they are towards where the (USS) Bainbridge is currently engaged in its activity with this pirate ship," an official with the US Central Command, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

The Navy earlier had called in negotiators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation "to assist with negotiations with the Somali pirates and are fully engaged in this matter," the FBI said in a statement.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the pirates' lifeboat was "apparently" out of fuel though military officials declined to confirm her account.

...

I am sure the Bainbridge has the fire power to blow the lifeboat out of the water. If it is out of fuel there should be little opportunity for the pirates to escape. I suspect the extra ships are to keep other pirates from coming to the aid of the ones holding the captain. If there are four pirates holding the captain of the hijacked ship, I would think that four or more Navy SEALS marksmen could take them out in one volley. That would be the quickest way to end the matter.

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