Somali Pirates Thwart Escape Attempt

Captain Richard Phillips attempted to escape from his captors, jumping overboard and attempting to swim to the USS Bainbridge, but was thwarted when the pirates threatened to kill him.

The pirates, marooned on a small boat in the Indian Ocean and stalked by a U.S. warship, demanded a ransom today for the safe release of Capt. Richard Phillips.

Phillips, the captain of the freighter Maersk Alabama that was hijacked by pirates and then retaken by his American crew, tried to single handedly end the standoff during the night.

He and four pirates have been bobbing in the water for three days. The boat can hold 76 people, so there is room for them to move around at times.

At one point during the night, Phillips courageously leaped off and began swimming for freedom, officials told ABC News. Almost immediately, a pirate jumped in after Phillips and dragged him back to the boat, officials said.

The entire drama was captured by a drone flying overhead that sent back live color video to the nearby U.S. warship, the Bainbridge, officials said.

Once recaptured, Phillips was back with four pirates in the 28-foot lifeboat. The pirates, out of gas but armed with AK-47 rifles, insisted on taking Phillips back to Somalia to hold him for ransom. They are about 300 miles from shore.

I'm concerned that the Navy is taking such a passive stance to ending this standoff. These pirates are going nowhere and can't escape. While it looks like the Navy is simply going to wait the pirates out, there's no reason to do so.

UPDATE:
This Reuters report notes that the piracy issue is just an annoying distraction. Right. It's just a distraction. Sorry, but it's that attitude that keeps piracy going. It isn't a distraction. It's a symptom of the failed state of Somalia and the failure to deal with the lawlessness there. Don't take my word for it (even though I've been saying the same thing as Dr. J. Peter Pham, director of the Nelson Institute for International and Public Affairs at James Madison University for some time now). Eliminating the pirate threat means going after the pirates and their home bases up and down the coast. It means giving them no quarter. It means no payment of ransoms, which are counterproductive and give the pirates the economic incentive to continue taking increasing risks to go after bigger bounty.

The pirates are seeking out bigger targets with the hopes of a bigger payday, and it is going to cost shipping crews their lives.

The French decided to put one such hostage situation to an end, and while four hostages were rescued, one hostage was killed. Two other pirates were killed.

UPDATE:
The USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship is moving into the area, along with a guided-missile frigate, USS Halyburton. Both have helicopters that could be used to mount a rescue or assault on the enclosed lifeboat the pirates are using. More here.