Somali pirates today in Indian Ocean have seized a Danish owned Maersk Alabama cargo ship line which has 21 U.S. citizens on board. The director of assistance to sea Maersk Line East Africa Andrew Mvanguara reported the incidence, however Maersk also released a statement in which it says the following.
"This morning, at around 05.00 UTC, Maersk Alabama, a 1,100 TEU container vessel, was attacked by pirates and presumed hijacked. The US flagged vessel has a crew of 20 US nationals and is owned and operated by Maersk Line, Limited in the US.
"Maersk Alabama is deployed in Maersk Line's East Africa service network and was enroute to Mombasa, when it was attacked approximately 500 kilometres of the Somalia coast. Our initial concern is to ensure proper support of the crew and assistance to their families.
"At this point in time we do not have any further information."
According to media reports such as this one in Russian (it references AP) Maersk Alabama had a Pentagon contract. However, according to CNN "the Norfolk-based Maersk Line is one of the Department of Defense's primary shipping contractors, but the Maersk Alabama is not under a Pentagon contract currently, according to Lt. Nathan Christensen, a spokesman for the U.S. military's 5th Fleet in Bahrain. Storgaard said the Maersk Alabama was carrying "general cargo," most likely including aid supplies to East Africa."
According to Mvangury Maersk Alabama, which was carrying 17 thousand tons of containers was seized about 400 miles away from the Somali Coast. Mvangura says that it's assumed all U.S. sailors are alive and healthy. According to some reports on crew member of Maersk Alabama was injured during the attack.
Shortly before the Maersk Alabama seizure U.S. Navy ships paroling the Gulf of Aden had distributed a warning to shipping companies saying there is an increased danger in the region.
According to Fox 9 U.S. Navy is closely monitorting the situation around Maersk Alabama attack.
Cmdr. Jane Campbell, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said that it was the first pirate attack "involving U.S. nationals and a U.S.-flagged vessel in recent memory." She did not give an exact time frame.
It is not clear whether the pirates knew they were hijacking a ship with American crew members.
"It's a very significant foreign policy challenge for the Obama administration," said Graeme Gibbon Brooks, managing director of the British company Dryad Maritime Intelligence Service Ltd. "Their citizens are in the hands of criminals and people are waiting to see what happens."
Brooks and other analysts interviewed by The Associated Press declined to speculate on whether American military forces might attempt a rescue operation.
When asked how the U.S. Navy plans to deal with the hijacking, Campbell said: "It's fair to say we are closely monitoring the situation, but we will not discuss nor speculate on current and future military operations."
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