America’s military prevailed over the pirates today in a high-seas drama that left three Somali thugs dead — and hero US ship Capt. Richard Phillips alive and well.
The bloodthirsty buccaneers “had an AK-47 leveled at the captain’s back” on their renegade lifeboat when US Navy snipers pulled the trigger and killed them, freeing Phillips five days after his container ship was hijacked off the coast of Somalia.
“He had a weapon aimed at him, and the on-scene commander saw that the weapon was aimed at him,” Navy Vice Admiral Bill Gortney said in describing what prompted the lightning-quick chain of events that saved Phillips.
After the rescue:
* It emerged that the Navy SEAL snipers methodically picked off their targets while perched on the fantail of the USS Bainbridge, which was between 80 and 100 feet from the foundering lifeboat at the time.
The smaller boat had been bobbing dangerously in the increasingly rough sea, and the Bainbridge had been towing it to calmer waters when the gunfire erupted.
* A humble Phillips said, “I’m just the byline. The real heroes are the Navy, the SEALs, those who brought me home,” according to John Reinhart, CEO of Maersk Line Ltd., which owns the container ship, the Maersk Alabama.
Phillips later was reported in good health.
“He’s showered up and in a clean set of clothes,” Gortney said.
* President Obama personally gave the go-ahead for the military action. The president, who talked to Phillips after his rescue, said, “I share the country’s admiration for the bravery of Capt. Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew . . . His courage is a model for all Americans.”
He added that he remained “resolved to halt the rise of piracy in this region.”
* Phillips’ crew erupted in cheers and waved an American flag aboard the Maersk Alabama, which is now docked safely at a Kenyan port.
“Tell the president to go get these guys. It shouldn’t come to that,” one crewman said after the saga.
* The captain’s wife, Andrea, issued a statement saying, “The Phillips family wants to thank you all for your support and prayers. They have felt the caring and concern extended by the nation . . . This is truly a very happy Easter for the Phillips family.”
* The Justice Department is weighing criminal charges against a fourth pirate who had gone aboard the nearby USS Bainbridge, supposedly to negotiate a deal, when the gunfire broke out around 7:19 p.m. local time. He could face life in a US prison if convicted in the first seizure of an American vessel by pirates in more than 200 years.
* A Somali pirate who said his name is Jamac Habeb warned, “Our friends should have done more to kill [Phillips] before they were killed. This will be a good lesson for us.
“From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill” hostages.
Various earlier reports had Phillips, 53, positioned on the side of the lifeboat relieving himself just before shots were fired, or even jumping in the water in another bid to flee his captors after a failed attempt earlier.
But officials later said he was still tied up and in “imminent danger” of being killed when he was rescued.
Phillips had gone with the modern-day brigands Wednesday to get them to leave his ship — and crewmen — alone.
The Underhill, Vt., resident’s rescue came after reports that negotiations to win his release had broken down, and as the lifeboat was just 20 miles from Somalia’s coast.
“Capt. Phillips is safe and sound,” a jubilant Reinhart said this afternoon. “It’s a great day for all of us.
“He’s feeling quite good. He’s getting some rest and he’ll soon be home.”
Phillips’s stunning rescue capped a five-day saga that dramatically highlighted the crisis of Somali piracy to the American public.
Buccaneers operating out of lawless areas of Somalia increasingly have been chasing and seizing commercial ships operating under the flags of a variety of nations, holding the crews and vessels hostage for millions of dollars. There currently are more than a dozen ships and 230 sailors being held hostage in the region.
The piracy has spurred a number of countries, including the United States, to send naval ships to the vast area off the Somali coast.
But until Wednesday, no Somali pirates had seized a US ship.
That day, a small boat carrying four gun-toting thugs began pursuing the Maersk Alabama, which was carrying food relief aid in containers bound for several East African countries.
The pirates caught up with the ship and began hauling themselves up from their own boat, which they sank.
Phillips ordered his unarmed, 19-man crew to lock themselves in a cabin, and the captain offered himself up as a hostage. The pirates, unable to find the sailors, grew increasingly frustrated.
One of the Alabama’s crew, ATM Reza of Connecticut, stabbed a pirate in the hand with an ice pick and tied him up.
The other pirates then took Phillips off the ship in a lifeboat. The crew tried to get him back by offering their captive in exchange for him, but the pirates refused to hold up their end of the bargain.
Within a day, the Bainbridge and other US naval vessels and a spy plane were at the scene, thwarting the pirates’ movements and also preventing other pirates from coming to their aid.
Phillips jumped into the water on Friday in a bid to escape but was quickly brought back to the boat by pirates, who had fired their weapons.
On Saturday night, the pirates — who were demanding a staggering $2 million for Phillips’ release — fired shots at a small Navy boat that was approaching the lifeboat.
Today, US choppers hovered over the lifeboat, where Phillips had been kept tied up for much of the time, and Navy ships moved in. The Navy kept a safe enough distance so as not to start bloodshed on the pirates’ part.
According to officials, the White House issued this missive to Navy operatives: If Phillips’ life is in danger, take action.
Additional reporting by Rebecca Rosenberg and Post Wire Services