The captain of a US-flagged, Danish-owned container ship hijacked by pirates in the Indian Ocean is being held hostage on the ship's lifeboat, a crew member on the vessel told CNN today.
Pentagon officials said the crew appeared to have retaken control of the vessel, the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama,after the hijacking.
The second mate of the ship, Ken Quinn, said in a telephone interview that the other members of the 20 crew on the ship were trying to negotiate the captain's release by offering food.
"They want to hold our captain for ransom, and we are trying to get him back," Mr Quinn said.
"He is in the ship's lifeboat."
Mr Quinn said all four pirates were on the lifeboat, after sinking their own boat when they seized the container vessel.
The crew took one pirate hostage and held him for 12 hours. They then released that pirate to the other pirates in exchange for the captain, but this did not work, Mr Quinn told CNN.
"We're offering food but it's not going too well."
Maritime officials said the Maersk Alabamahad been carrying food aid for Somalia and Uganda to Mombasa from Djibouti when it was seized far out in the Indian Ocean in an escalation in attacks off the lawless Horn of Africa nation.
Maersk Line Ltd, the US subsidiary of Denmark's AP Moller-Maersk that owns the ship, said it could not confirm the vessel was back under the control of its crew.
A Pentagon spokeswoman, Army Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth Hibner, said she understood at least four pirates boarded the ship at first. She said it was not clear how the crew may have retaken the ship.
There was no suggestion anyone had been harmed, a second Pentagon official, who asked not to be named, said.
The US Navy destroyer Bainbridgewas en route, Hibner said. Details on how far away it was were not immediately available. Earlier, a Pentagon spokesman said it was "probably correct" the nearest US warship was hundreds of miles away.
AP Moller-Maersk said the Maersk Alabamahad been attacked by pirates about 500km off Somalia and was presumed hijacked. It said it had 20 American crew on board.
Maersk Line president and chief executive John Reinhart told reporters he could not confirm the crew had retaken control.
"A lot of speculation is going on. I believe it is premature to comment on that," he said on a conference call, adding that he had received a cell phone call from the crew at about 6pm saying they were all safe.
Reuters