Phillips' sister-in-law, Lea Coggio, described him as "easygoing, laid-back," and added that she wouldn't be surprised if he was having a relaxed conversation with the pirates.
Numerous merchant vessels have successfully fended off or outrun pirates, but the actions of the U.S. crew appeared to mark a rare instance of seafarers overpowering pirates after a ship was seized, maritime officials said.
It remained unclear who attacked the 17,000-ton vessel, but past attacks have been launched by Somali warlords, disgruntled fishermen and foreign-based criminal networks. After chasing ships in speed boats and scaling the ships' hulls, Somali pirates typically anchor vessels off the coast and negotiate ransoms of $1 million to $3 million.
Last year, pirates attacked 122 vessels in the region and seized 42 of them. Total ransom payments collected by Somali pirates were believed to have topped $50 million. Maritime officials say at least 16 ships and 200 crew members are being held.
Among high-profile attacks last year was one against a Ukrainian vessel carrying 33 military tanks and another targeting a Saudi-owned tanker carrying $100 million worth of crude oil.
Pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama about 7:30 a.m., U.S. Navy officials said. The ship was in the Indian Ocean about 240 nautical miles southeast of the Somalia port city of Eyl, they said.
The ship's owner, Norfolk, Va.-based Maersk Line, is a U.S. subsidiary of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk. The shipping giant is a longtime Pentagon contractor, according to security analyst firm Global Security.org, operating vessels with "top security clearance." But the hijacked vessel was not sailing under a Defense Department contract at the time of the attack, company and U.S. military officials said.
Maersk Line Chief Executive John Reinhart said at a news conference that the company's seafarers were trained in prevention methods to combat piracy, such as increasing the ship's speed or changing direction, preventing pirates from boarding, using extra lookouts and maintaining regular communication with the U.S. Navy.
"We have ways to push back, but we don't carry arms," he said.
A spokesman for the World Food Program confirmed that part of the ship's cargo was being ferried on its behalf, including 4,000 metric tons of corn headed for Somalia and Uganda, and 1,000 metric tons of vegetable oil for refugees in Kenya. It was expected to dock in the Kenyan port of Mombasa on April 16.
