U.S. ship's captain reportedly a hostage

MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 8 (UPI) -- Somali pirates who boarded a U.S.-flagged cargo ship and were overpowered by its crew Wednesday reportedly took the ship's captain hostage, officials said.

The Maersk Alabama was transporting humanitarian aid to Kenya when it was hijacked, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The 20-member crew overpowered the pirates and retook the ship, but the ship's captain was reportedly being held captive by some of the pirates who fled into the ship's lifeboat, a U.S. defense official said.

Still unclear was how the U.S. crew regained control. One crew member told CNN that a pirate was briefly held, but released in an unsuccessful attempt to exchange the pirate for the captain.

The vessel was traveling to Mombasa, Kenya, when it was attacked about 310 miles off Somalia's coast, the ship line said in a statement. The ship's owner, Maersk Line Ltd. of Norfolk, Va., is a U.S. subsidiary of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk.

U.S. officials said Navy P-3 surveillance planes were monitoring the vessel and the U.S. destroyer Bainbridge was en route, the Times said.

John Reinhart, Maersk chief executive officer, said the company's sea employees were trained to deal with the risks of piracy.

"We have ways to push back, but we don't carry arms," Reinhart said during a news conference.

The Maersk Alabama, based out of Norfolk, Va., was "going to Africa for people in need," he said. "There was no other cargo on the vessel."

Maritime officials said at least 16 ships and 200 crew members currently were being held off the Somalia coast.