[CatoRenasci]

I understand there would be difficulties, but the instant he was in the water, snipers should have been suppressing any fire from the open hatch of the lifeboat while SEALS got the good captain out of harms way. They wouldn't have to hit the pirates to suppress their fire effectively. As soon as the captain and the SEALS were a safe distance, then they should have shredded the lifeboat and made sure the perps went down with it.

[A Navy Vet]

Sounds plausible, especially if the Bainbridge is really that close. I figured the pirates would insist on thousands of yards out, rather than the report “several hundred”. But then, who knows if there are SEALS in the water? If they are, how close to the lifeboat? And would they have time to grab the hostage before he headed back to the lifeboat after the pirates opened fire? There’s a lot of variables here.