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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Pirates off the eastern coast of Africa fired on U.S. sailors Saturday as they tried to reach the lifeboat where an American captain is being held, a U.S. official familiar with the situation told CNN. The gunfire forced the sailors, who did not return fire, to turn back, the official said. The incident took place some 12 hours ago as the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge sent a small team toward the lifeboat, said the official.

This story comes from Bloomberg -- which we cannot excerpt. However, we can provide our own summary of the general gist of the article which is that one of the pirates has claimed both sides have agreed to a prisoner exchange -- our captain for four of their outlaws. The article goes on to warn that as of right now, this is by no means a done deal. You can read the article HERE.

The Maersk Alabama pulled into its berth in Mombasa port Saturday evening, while U.S. warships tried to stop Somali pirates from sending reinforcements to a lifeboat where the Alabama's capitain is being held hostage off Africa's eastern coast. About seven Alabama crewmembers, clad in blue overalls and hardhats, watched from the railings as the ship was pulled into its berth. A few waved and one pumped his fist as the ship approached the dock, which was covered with journalists wielding cameras and notebooks, as a helicopter rented by the Associated Press hovered overhead. The ship had visible security: several men...

Somali pirates have hijacked a US-owned tugboat in the Gulf of Aden with 16 crew on board, reports say. Maritime industry sources say the tug, which sails under an Italian flag, was towing two barges at the time of the attack, at 1100 local time (0800 GMT). The crew are said to be unharmed. The US and Italian governments have not confirmed the hijacking. Meanwhile pirates holding a US captain hostage have warned that using force to rescue him could result in "disaster". The pirates said they hoped to transfer Capt Richard Phillips from a lifeboat to a bigger vessel,...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The standoff between hostage-taking pirates and a U.S. Navy warship looks and feels like a military showdown, but as a matter of law, it's more like the aftermath of a bank robbery gone bad. Whether a U.S. citizen is taken hostage at a downtown bank branch or on the high seas, federal authorities can claim the authority to capture suspects and prosecute them in U.S. courts. That means, if the Somali pirates holding a U.S. cargo ship captain hostage in the Indian Ocean make it off their small lifeboat alive, they may have to answer to the...

Somali tribal elders are going to help mediate for the release of a US ship captain. Captain Richard Phillips is being held hostage by pirates in Somali waters in the Gulf of Aden. The tribal elders want the captain released, but are not willing to negotiate a ransom. The Pentagon is reluctant to intervene for fear of the captain's life. The pirates say they want to bring the man to another hijacked ship and are threatening a bloodbath if they are prevented from doing so. Other pirates holding 24 hostages on a German ship have given up attempts to help...

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Somali pirates holding an American hostage on a drifting lifeboat want $2 million for his release, a fellow pirate onshore said on Friday. The pirate, speaking to Reuters from Haradheere port, also said other pirates were taking a hijacked German ship, with foreign crew on board, toward the scene in the Indian Ocean where the lifeboat is floating, watched by U.S. warships. "Knowing that the Americans will not destroy this German ship and its foreign crew, they (the approaching pirates) hope they can meet their friends on the lifeboat," said the pirate, who has given reliable information...

MOGADISHU — French forces freed a yacht captured by pirates, though one French hostage was killed, French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s office said in a statement yesterday. Four other hostages, including a child, held on the Tanit since April 4, were also freed. Two pirates were killed in the military operation and three others seized. The statement said a decision to launch a rescue operation was made after the pirates refused to accept negotiators’ terms and tried to sail towards the coast. Meanwhile, pirates holding an American hostage on a drifting lifeboat hauled him back when he jumped overboard to escape...

A SOMALI in contact with a pirate leader says the captors of a US sea captain are ready to kill him if attacked. Four pirates are holding Captain Richard Phillips hostage aboard a drifting lifeboat, with US officials trying to negotiate his release. The Somali, who last year helped negotiate a ransom to pirates who seized a Ukrainian ship carrying tanks, spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He says he has spoken with a pirate leader on the ground in Somalia who is coordinating action on the lifeboat currently adrift in the Indian Ocean. He says the...

<p>Defense officials say that one of the pirates holding an American captive fired an automatic weapon when the hostage tried to swim to safety.</p> <p>Defense officials say it's not clear whether the pirate fired at the fleeing hostage, or into the air. The officials spoke Friday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about the sensitive, unfolding operation.</p>

Somali pirates holding an American ship captain hostage have reportedly made a £1.6m ransom offer - as another hostage in the same region is killed. American Captain Richard Phillips tried to escape by jumping into the sea in sight of a US warship, but he was quickly recaptured, officals have said. Capt Phillips is not thought to have been hurt in the incident, even though shots from an automatic weapon were fired in the drama. Meanwhile, the French military has managed to free a child and three others from a yacht taken hostage in the notorious Gulf of Aden last...

- Somali pirates holding an American on a drifting lifeboat vowed on Friday to fight any attack by U.S. naval forces and reportedly recaptured their hostage when he jumped overboard to escape."We are not afraid of the Americans," one of the pirates told Reuters by satellite phone on behalf of the gang holding Phillips far off the Somali coast in the Indian Ocean. "We will defend ourselves if attacked." Two boats full of heavily-armed fellow pirates have taken to sea in solidarity with the four on the lifeboat, but are too nervous to come near due to the presence of...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US ship captain being held hostage by pirates off Somalia jumped off the lifeboat where he was being held early Friday but failed to escape his captors, US networks reported. Captain Richard Phillips jumped into the water during the night and tried to swim towards the nearby US destroyer, the USS Bainbridge, but pirates jumped in and recaptured him, three US television networks reported. US military officials told CNN that Phillips was in good condition and that the pirates did not hurt him. The Bainbridge, accompanied by a P-3 Orion surveillance plane, was preventing the pirates...

NAIROBI, Kenya – Escalating a dramatic Indian Ocean standoff, more U.S. warships — as well as pirate reinforcements with an international gallery of hostages — rushed Friday toward the spot where four Somali bandits are holding a U.S. sea captain aboard a drifting lifeboat.

American Captain Tries Daring Escape from Somali Pirates Both Sides Send Reinforcements to Pirate Standoff The American captain being held hostage by Somali pirates dove into the water during the night in an attempt to escape, but was quickly recaptured, Defense Department officials said today. The daring overnight escape attempt by Capt. Richard Phillips was the Vermont sailor's latest bit of heroics in the four day old drama on the high seas 300 miles from the nearest coastline. Phillips had earlier volunteered to be a hostage after his unarmed men took back their freighter, the Maersk Alabama, from the pirates....

<p>NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) -- Pirates and U.S. warships are racing to the spot in the Indian Ocean where an American sea captain is being held hostage by a handful of pirates.</p> <p>A Nairobi-based diplomat says the pirates holding Capt. Richard Phillips have summoned assistance. He says skiffs and motherships are heading toward the area from the coast.</p>

Despite a hardline U.S. policy, there is no reason why federal officials can't negotiate directly with pirates who are holding a U.S. captain hostage off Somalia, a counterterrorism expert said Thursday. Nor is there anything to stop an independent party from paying for his release, said Juan Carlos Zarate, who served as deputy national security adviser for combating terrorism under former President George W. Bush. "The U.S. has a very clear policy of no concessions; that's different than no negotiations," said Zarate, now is a senior adviser to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The U.S. policy...

4 mins ago NAIROBI, Kenya – Escalating a dramatic Indian Ocean standoff, more U.S. warships — as well as pirate reinforcements with an international gallery of hostages — rushed Friday toward the spot where four Somali bandits are holding a U.S. sea captain aboard a drifting lifeboat.

The American sailor being held hostage by Somali pirates managed to jump off the lifeboat overnight but was recaptured, NBC News reported Friday. Captain Richard Phillips tried to swim away before being taken back into the pirates' custody, NBC's Jim Miklaszewski told the TODAY show. The escape bid was witnessed by the U.S. Navy but happened too quickly for them to come to his aid.

MOGADISHU/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy negotiated on Thursday with Somali pirates who held an American ship captain hostage in a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean, their first such seizure of a U.S. citizen. The gunmen briefly hijacked the 17,000-tonne Maersk Alabama freighter Wednesday, but the 20 American crew retook control after a confrontation far out at sea where pirates have captured five other vessels in a week. Four gang members were holding the captain, Richard Phillips, on the ship's lifeboat after he apparently volunteered to be a hostage for the sake of his crew. The Bainbridge, a U.S. warship,...