After a three day standoff with four Somali pirates 20 miles off the coast of Somalia, Captain Richard Phillips was safe aboard a US warship. His tanker had been taken by a small group of pirates, a now common occurrence in the waters off the eastern coast of Africa. Phillips had told his crew to lock themselves in another cabin while he surrendered to the pirates. They took him hostage on a small life boat while Navy warships closed in. The crew made it safely to Kenya.
During the three day standoff there were tense negotiations with the pirates, all armed and frequently pointing guns at Phillips, threatening to take his life. Navy SEALs then parachuted on to the back of one of the Naval vessels and set up sniper rifles to provide an over watch on the situation and a possible solution, if needed. The life boat carrying Captain Phillips had since been taken under tow by another Navy boat, keeping the boat from drifting back to Somalia. The Somali pirates seemed to have no awareness as to the Navy SEALs capabilities, regularly keeping themselves exposed. One of the four jumped on a Navy inflatable boat and was taken aboard to receive medical attention and negotiate further with the US. The on-site commander saw an opportunity to take out the pirates and requested permission from President Obama, who denied it twice. Finally, on a third request, he gave the green light. The Navy SEALs fired three shots, all three killing their intended targets. The shots were taken at night, in rough seas with the life boat drifting vertically by a couple of feet, at approximately 75 feet. The Navy SEALs have shown to be masters of their craft yet again.
