The American captain held hostage by four Somali pirates made a desperate escape attempt Fridaybut was recaptured, and officials said other pirates sought to reinforce their colleagues bysailing hijacked ships with other captives aboard to the scene of the standoff.
The U.S. also was bolstering its force by dispatching other warships to the site off the Hornof Africa, where a U.S. destroyer shadowed the drifting lifeboat carrying the hostage, Capt.Richard Phillips.
The pirates on the lifeboat apparently fear being shot or arrested if they hand over Phillips- who was taken hostage in their failed effort to hijack the cargo ship Maersk Alabama on Wednesday- and they hope to link up with their colleagues who are using Russian, German, Filipino and otherhostages captured in recent days as human shields.
Around midnight local time, Phillips jumped off the lifeboat and began swimming, but wasrecaptured by the pirates, according to Defense Department officials, speaking on condition ofanonymity because they are not authorized to talk about unfolding operations.
Sailors aboard the USS Bainbridge, which is patrolling nearby, was able to see Phillipsmoving around and talking after his return to the lifeboat, and the Defense Department officialsthink he is unharmed.
Negotiations are taking place between the pirates and the captain of the Bainbridge, who isgetting direction from FBI hostage negotiators, the officials said. The captors are alsocommunicating with other pirate vessels by satellite phone, officials said.
U.S. Central Command chief Gen. David Petraeus said U.S. warships also are headed to thearea, more than 300 miles off Somalia's Indian Ocean coast.
"We want to ensure that we have all the capability that might be needed over the course ofthe coming days," he said.
Mohamed Samaw, a resident of the pirate stronghold in Eyl, Somalia, who claims to have a"share" in a British-owned ship hijacked Monday, said four foreign ships held by pirates areheading toward the lifeboat. A total of 54 hostages are on two of the ships - citizens of China,Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the Philippines, Tuvalu, Indonesia and Taiwan.
"The pirates have summoned assistance - skiffs and mother ships are heading towards the areafrom the coast," said a Nairobi-based diplomat, who spoke on condition on anonymity because he isnot authorized to talk to the media. "We knew they were gathering yesterday."
Samaw said two ships left Eyl on Wednesday. A third sailed from Haradhere, another piratebase in Somalia, and the fourth one was a Taiwanese fishing vessel seized Monday that was alreadyonly 30 miles from the lifeboat.
He said the ships include the German cargo ship Hansa Stavanger, seized earlier this month.The ship's crew of 24 is made up of five Germans, three Russians, two Ukrainians, two Filipinos and12 from Tuvalu.
Another man identified as a pirate by three different residents of Haradhere also said thecaptured German ship had been sent.
"They had asked us for reinforcement, and we have already sent a good number of well-equippedcolleagues, who were holding a German cargo ship," said the pirate who asked that only his firstname, Badow, be used to protect him from reprisals.
"We are not intending to harm the captain, so that we hope our colleagues would not be harmedas long as they hold him," Badow said.
"All we need, first, is a safe route to escape with the captain, and then (negotiate) ransomlater," he added.
Phillips, 53, thwarted the takeover of the 17,000-ton U.S.-flagged Alabama by telling hiscrew of about 20 to lock
themselves in a room, the crew told stateside relatives.
The crew later overpowered some of the pirates but Phillips surrendered himself to thebandits to safeguard his men, and the Somalis fled with him to an enclosed lifeboat, the relativessaid.
At Phillips' home in Underhill, Vt., family members nervously awaited word on his fate.Sister-in-law Lea Coggio said Thursday a representative of Maersk called to let Phillips' wife knowthat food and water had been delivered to the lifeboat.
"I think he's coping, knowing Richard," she said. "He's a smart guy, and he's in control. "
Officials at Maersk shipping offices in Norfolk, Va., did not respond to repeated messagesseeking comment Friday.
The Alabama sailed away from the lifeboat Thursday, Maersk shipping line said, and a teams ofarmed Navy SEALs is on board, according to a U.S. official who asked not to be identified becauseof the sensitivity of the situation.
It was sailing toward the Kenyan port of Mombasa - its original destination - and wasexpected to arrive Saturday night, said Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts MaritimeAcademy whose son, Shane Murphy, is second-in-command of the vessel.
Company spokesman Kevin Speers told AP Radio on Thursday the lifeboat carrying Phillips andthe pirates was out of fuel and "dead in the water."
Most of the lifeboats are about 28 feet long and carry water and food for 34 people for 10days, said Joseph Murphy.
The lifeboats are covered and Murphy, speaking after a briefing by the shipping company, saidhe suspects the pirates have closed the ports to avoid sniper fire.
Petraeus said the other warships would arrive shortly. U.S. officials said the guided-missilefrigate USS Halyburton was among ships en route.
The show of force follows an increase in the number of attacks and the first one on aU.S.-flagged ship. The vessels strengthen surveillance of the area and may dissuade pirates fromseizing another ship, but there are not enough to mount a blockade in the danger zone that sprawlsacross 1.1 million square miles, said a senior U.S. defense official who spoke on condition ofanonymity because he was not authorized to discuss operational matters.
The Alabama was the sixth vessel in a week to be hit by pirates who have extorted tens ofmillions of dollars in ransoms.
President Barack Obama is getting regular updates on the situation, said White Housespokesman Robert Gibbs. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the United States will take whateversteps are needed to protect U.S. shipping interests against pirates.
Steve Romano, a retired head of the FBI hostage negotiation team, said he doesn't recall theFBI ever negotiating with pirates before, but he said this situation is similar to other standoffs.Although pirates release the vast majority of their hostages unharmed, the difficulty will benegotiating with people who clearly have no way out, he said.
"There's always a potential for tragedy here, and when people feel their options are limited,they sometimes react in more unpredictable and violent ways," Romano said.
