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FBI called in for hostage standoff with pirates
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-04-10 00:27

The US Navy has sent up P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft and has video of the scene.

FBI spokesman Richard Kolko described the bureau's hostage negotiating team as "fully engaged" with the military in strategizing ways to retrieve the ship's captain and secure the Maersk Alabama and its roughly 20-member US crew.

FBI called in for hostage standoff with pirates
Kenyan police officers escort suspected Somali pirates in the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa April 8, 2009. [Agencies] 

One senior Pentagon official, speaking on grounds of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, described the incident now as a "somewhat of a standoff."

Though officials declined to say how close the Bainbridge is to the site, one official said of the pirates: "They can see it with their eyes." He spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of talking about a military operation in progress.

The Bainbridge was among several US ships that had been patrolling in the region when the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama was captured by the pirates. It was the sixth vessel seized in a week.

Somali Foreign Minister Mohamed Omaar said the pirates "cannot win" against American forces.

"The pirates are playing with fire and have got themselves into a situation where they have to extricate themselves because there is no way they can win," he told The Associated Press.

Phillips' family was at his Vermont farmhouse, anxiously watching news reports and taking telephone calls from the State Department.

"We are on pins and needles," said Gina Coggio, 29, half sister of Phillips' wife, Andrea, as she stood on the porch of his one-story house Wednesday in a light snow. "I know the crew has been in touch with their own family members, and we're hoping we'll hear from Richard soon."

Phillips surrendered himself to the pirates to secure the safety of the crew, Coggio said.

"What I understand is that he offered himself as the hostage," she said. "That is what he would do. It's just who he is and his response as a captain."

Coggio said she believed there were negotiations under way, although she didn't specify between whom.