The four Americans hijacked on Friday off the coast of Oman in their private yacht are now believed to be somewhere between Yemen and Somalia. According to one of two pirates on board the vessel, “Quest” is moving closer to the Somali coast and is being shadowed by a warship, though the pirate’s claim has not been verified. The pirate who gave his name only as Hassan says a warship with a helicopter on its deck is near the Quest.
The hope is the warship will free them before the pirates reach Puntland, a haven for pirates on Somalia’s northern tip where the American hostages would likely be taken inland and a fast resolution would be much less likely.
An Embassy spokesperson does say officials are assessing options and “possible responses.” The Quest is owned by a California couple, Scott and Jean Adam. The other two Americans onboard from Seattle are Phyllis MacKay and Bob Riggle. They had been taking part in an international yacht race called “The Blue Water Rally” when the Quest left it on February 15th to chart an independent course from India to Oman.
The Adams have been sailing the world with a yacht full of bibles since 2004.
Pirates have increased attacks on ships off the coast of east Africa, but Americans have rarely been targeted. The last attack against a U.S. crew was in 2009 and ended with navy sharpshooters killing two pirates and rescuing the ship’s captain and a British sailing couple who were released in November and spent 388 days in pirate captivity.
Source: The Fox News Insider
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