Pirates in Navy Standoff Running Out of Options

Four Somali pirates still holding a American captain hostage this morning are rapidly running out of options in their standoff with a US Navy warship, the AP reports. The pirates are in a lifeboat seized to replace their own vessel, floating hundreds of miles away from Somalia with enough food for a week—but no fuel. Six other warships are approaching the area.

Capt. Richard Phillips—who is believed to have offered himself as a hostage to ensure the safety of the other crew members from the Maersk Alabama—is the pirates' only bargaining chip. The ship's second mate told CNN that the pirates had agreed to return the captain in exchange for one of their own men who had been captured, but reneged on the agreement after the pirate was released.
(More Somalia stories.)