Ship reaches Kenya; pirate lifeboat drifts toward land

By Celestine Achieng

MOMBASA, Kenya (Reuters) - A U.S.-flagged ship that was seized by Somali pirates arrived safely in the Kenyan port of Mombasa on Saturday, as a Somali mediator headed to sea to try to secure the release of the ship's American captain.

"The captain is a hero," one crew member shouted from the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama container ship as it docked. "He saved our lives by giving himself up.

The ship, under the command of Richard Phillips, was attacked by gunmen far out in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday but its 20 American crew apparently fought off the hijackers and regained control of the freighter.

Phillips was taken hostage and is being held captive on a drifting lifeboat by the gang of four pirates who want $2 million ransom for him, as well as safe passage.

Relatives said Phillips had volunteered to join the pirates in their lifeboat in exchange for the safety of his crew. At one point, he tried to escape by jumping overboard but "didn't get very far," a U.S. official said.

Three U.S. warships were in the area around the lifeboat. A U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity said crew members on the destroyer USS Bainbridge saw Phillips on Friday from a distance of several hundred yards (meters), moving and talking aboard the boat after his failed escape.

CNN said on Saturday the Bainbridge sent a small boat to approach the lifeboat to open communication, but the pirates responded with gunfire. The Navy personnel then retreated.

NBC television and CBS radio said the lifeboat had drifted to within 20 miles of the Somali coast, and that U.S. military officials feared that if the craft reached the shore, the pirates might escape with their hostage on land.