Hijacked US crew 'retake vessel'

US crew members have retaken their hijacked ship but their captain is still being held by Somali pirates on a lifeboat, reports say.Pentagon sources and relatives of the Maersk Alabama's 20 crew were earlier quoted as saying the ship was back under control after a struggle.But later reports emerged that the captain was still in the hands of the hijackers, adrift in the lifeboat.It was the sixth ship seized off Somalia in recent days.It is reportedly the first time in 200 years that a US-flagged vessel has been seized by pirates.The Associated Press reported that they had spoken to a sailor on board the Maersk Alabama who said the crew had retaken the vessel and one pirate had been captured.But the unnamed sailor told AP that three of the pirates were now holding the captain hostage in a lifeboat.The ship's owners later confirmed that the pirates were off the ship but holding the captain.More than 130 attacks, including nearly 50 which were successful, were reported in 2008. Most were in the Gulf of Aden, where 16,000 ships enter and exit the Red Sea each year on one of the world's busiest maritime trade routes.At least 18 ships and more than 250 hostages are now in pirate hands.Despite the recent upsurge in hijackings, the number of attacks and their success rate has declined slightly since the start of the year, which is due to unfavourable sea conditions and an increased foreign naval presence in the Gulf.