Implications of globalization and technology on negotiation

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13 Apr 2009
Somali pirates in talks with elders and FBI over hostage Richard Phillips

Crew members of the Maersk Alabama arrive in Mombasa, Kenya after overpowering Somali pirates and regain control of their ship. Photograph: Sarah Elliott/EPA
Negotiations between the FBI, Somali elders and four gunmen holding a US ship captain captive on a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean continued today as foreign helicopters circled a notorious pirate lair.
The lifeboat, which is being closely tracked by three American warships, is reported to be drifting closer to land, which US military officials fear would allow the pirates to escape with hostage Captain Richard Phillips.
His container ship, the Maersk Alabama, was briefly hijacked more than 300 miles off Somalia's east coast on Wednesday, but the all-American crew of 20 quickly regained control. Phillips, a 53-year-old former taxi driver, offered himself to the pirates as a hostage in order to safeguard his crew.
The pirates, who are armed with AK-47s and handguns, fired at a US Navy vessel that approached yesterday, but nobody was hurt and the boat withdrew. They have reportedly demanded safe passage back to Somalia and a ransom before Phillips is released.
Residents of Harardheere, a pirate hideout halfway up Somali's east coast, reported seeing two helicopters circling the area this morning. It was not clear if the helicopters were American and whether they were being used to assist in negotiations or to intimidate the pirate gangs in the town.
The Alabama docked in Mombasa yesterday, with the 19 crew members unharmed.
"He saved our lives!" second mate Ken Quinn, declared from the ship deck, referring to Captain Phillips. "He's a hero."
ATM Reza, a crew member who said he was first to see the pirates board the ship on Wednesday, described how the bandits "came on with hooks and ropes and were firing in the air."
He was responding to a throng of reporters shouting questions from shore about the ordeal that began with Somali pirates hauling themselves up from a small boat bobbing on the surface of the Indian Ocean far below.
As the pirates shot in the air, Phillips told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men, crew members said.
In the dozens of previous hijackings by Somali pirates in the last few years, ship owners ...