Somalia: Implications of the Alabama Incident

Negotiations were under way April 9 to secure the release of the civilian U.S. container ship captain held hostage by Somali pirates, as U.S. forces headed to the region to resolve the situation. Individual initiative and a military background among the U.S. crew, combined with a miscalculation on the part of the pirates, allowed the crew of the ship to retake control of the ship from the pirates. While the incident does not signal an end to piracy off the coast of Somalia, it does carry lessons for commercial shipping in the waters near Somalia, and for the pirates.