Hijackings

With a U.S. warship on site keeping watch early today, Somali pirates and American seamen engaged in a standoff on the high seas after the crew of a freighter loaded with food for Africa fought off the hijackers -- who fled in a lifeboat with the captain as a hostage. The assault on the U.S.- registered Maersk Alabama cargo ship far off Somalia's coast marked the first attack against a U.S.

Somali pirates released a Saudi supertanker seized in the world's biggest ship hijacking for a $3-million ransom Friday, but five drowned when their boat capsized as they were making off with their share. The capture of the Sirius Star and its $100-million cargo of crude in November drew attention to a surge in piracy off Somalia that has brought global navies rushing to protect one of the world's most important shipping lanes.

A ransom has been delivered to Somali pirates who seized a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks, heavy weapons and about 20 crew members, a spokesman for the ship's owners said Wednesday. Mikhail Voitenko did not say how much was paid, but Russia's Itar-Tass news agency put it at $3.2 million. The pirates originally demanded $20 million. The Faina was seized in September off Somalia. "The ransom has been delivered to the Faina.

Somali pirates released a Ukrainian freighter carrying heavy arms Thursday and sped away with a $3.2-million ransom as U.S. Navy ships watched, ending a four-month standoff that focused world attention on piracy off Somalia's lawless coast. The Navy said it couldn't seize the bandits for fear of endangering 147 seamen held hostage on other hijacked ships.

Capt. Richard Phillips knew the waters off the rugged Horn of Africa were dangerous. The veteran mariner said as much in an e-mail to his wife, Andrea, from the cargo ship Maersk Alabama. "He knew the pirates were active again," said his sister-in-law, Lea Coggio. Shane Murphy, the second in command on the huge U.S-flagged ship, also knew the perils of sailing off Somalia. He brushed off his mother's questions about pirates when home in Massachusetts, but he posted his fears online.

Four police officers in Trinidad allegedly hijacked a smuggling boat at gunpoint and stole 1,000 endangered birds and monkeys, along with 400 pounds of wild animal meat, authorities said Tuesday. The boat had sailed from Venezuela carrying more than 500 bull finches, 300 picoplat songbirds and an assortment of monkeys -- all crammed into tiny cages piled up on the craft, officials said. The illicit load was estimated to be worth about $500,000.

A multinational force seized seven suspected pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the U.S. Navy said. Personnel from the U.S. guided missile cruiser Vella Gulf detained the seven after responding to a distress call from a merchant vessel, a Navy statement said. Pirates have hijacked dozens of ships and taken tens of millions of dollars in ransom.

Somali pirates freed an Egyptian cargo ship and its crew of 28 after holding the vessel more than two months, Egypt's envoy to Somalia said Ambassador Saeed Morsy did not say if a ransom was paid. The Blue Star was carrying 6,000 tons of fertilizer when 15 armed pirates seized it Jan. 1 as it entered the Gulf of Aden.

A tourist yacht with a crew of seven has been hijacked by Somali pirates near the Seychelles islands off Africa's east coast, officials said. The Indian Ocean Explorer had dropped off its contingent of tourists before it was seized, said Kirk Green, director of Aquatours, the London-based operator that books diving tours on the yacht. Green said he was told of the hijacking Wednesday by the British Navy and thought the boat had been taken then. But the U.S. Navy says the ship was taken either Friday or Saturday.

A gunman hijacked a car from a woman at Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Wednesday, then eluded a force of Glendale, Burbank and Los Angeles police searching the 400-acre cemetery. An unidentified woman notified Forest Lawn administrators that her 1993 Lexus had been stolen at gunpoint around 3:45 p.m. The only exit gates were immediately closed, police said.