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Saturday, April 11, 2009
EYL, Somalia, April 11 (UPI) -- Somali pirates using a commandeered a German cargo ship to search for a U.S. hostage being held in a lifeboat have returned to port, sources say.
Pirates steered the hijacked German ship Hansa Stavanger back to the Somali port of Eyl Saturday after using it to search for other pirates holding Capt. Richard Phillips in a lifeboat adrift in the Gulf of Aden, a Somali journalist told CNN.
The German ship, which was hijacked on April 4, was one of several captive vessels that pirates have been using to search for the lifeboat, believed to be about 300 miles off the Somali coast, the U.S. broadcaster said.
U.S. military officials say pirates have been seeking the lifeboat, in which four Somali pirates who hijacked Phillips' ship, the Maersk Alabama, were holding the American captain at gunpoint. A U.S. Defense Department official told CNN that Phillips looked to be tied up by the pirates after making an unsuccessful attempt Friday to escape and swim to safety.
Source: UPI, April 11, 2009