Pirates defy U.S. navy off Somalia, French free yacht

By Abdi Guled

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Pirates on Friday sailed a hijacked German freighter and its crew toward a lifeboat off Somalia where an American hostage was being held in an attempt to help their comrades in a standoff with the U.S. Navy.

In a day of drama on the high seas off East Africa, French special forces stormed and freed a yacht held by pirates in a military assault in which one hostage was killed and four others were freed.

A pirate source said the four pirates holding the American captain of a cargo ship, Richard Phillips, in a drifting lifeboat under the gaze of a U.S. warship were demanding $2 million for his release and a guarantee of their own safety.

They have been holding Phillips since a foiled attempt on Wednesday to hijack the 17,000-tonne, Danish-owned Maersk Alabama several hundred miles off Somalia.

Close by, the destroyer USS Bainbridge was in radio contact with the pirates seeking a peaceful outcome to the standoff with the assistance of FBI experts, a U.S. official said.

But the pirate source told Reuters from the fishing port of Haradheere, a pirate den in Somalia, that another group that hijacked the 20,000-tonne German container vessel, the Hansa Stavanger, a week ago were heading to the scene of the standoff in the Indian Ocean.

The ship, seized off south Somalia between Kenya and the Seychelles, has a crew of 24, of whom five are German.

"Knowing that the Americans will not destroy this German ship and its foreign crew, they hope they can meet their friends on the lifeboat," said the pirate, who has given reliable information in the past but asked not to be named.

The Norwegian-owned, 23-000-tonne tanker Bow Asir, held since the end of March, was released after a ransom was paid by its owners, pirate sources said.

A spokesman for operator Salhus Shipping AS confirmed the vessel, which has a crew of 27, had been released, but gave no details. Sources put the payment at around $2.4 million.

Located on the Horn of Africa across from the Middle East, Somalia has suffered 18 years of civil conflict since warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

PROTECTING SEA ROUTES

Last year there were an unprecedented number of hijackings off Somalia -- 42 in total. That disrupted shipping, delayed food aid to east Africa, increased insurance costs and persuaded some firms to send cargoes round South Africa instead of through the Suez Canal, a critical route for oil.

It also brought a massive international response, with ships from the United States, Europe, China, Japan and others flocking to the region to protect the sea-routes.

Phillips apparently volunteered to get in a lifeboat with the pirates on Wednesday in exchange for the safety of his crew, who regained control of the ship laden with relief food destined for Kenya.