Somali pirates attacked a cargo ship with an American crew yesterday and kidnapped the crew's captain. The standoff is the sixth pirate attack in the area off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean in the past week. The Americans fought back against the pirates and retook their ship, but the pirates continue to hold their captain hostage in a life raft. The U.S. Navy is now on the scene and the FBI is negotiating with the pirates. These pirates, often from poor villages on the Somali coast, take ship crews hostage and then ransom them for millions of dollars from the ship owners. The Somali coast is roughly the size of the eastern coast of the United States, so the vast area of ocean leaves many large cargo ships vulnerable to the heavily armed pirates. This report explains the pirate problem and includes an interview with a pirate expert from the Rand Corporation. Quotes "The Maersk Alabama was the sixth ship commandeered just this week by pirates in the lawless waters off the East African coast. A Kenya-based official of the World Food Programme, which was expecting the Alabama's arrival, said the pirates are less interested in cargo than in the ransom the hostages might bring." - Gwen Ifill "The length of the Somali coastline is roughly the same length as the entire eastern seaboard of the United States, so it's a very large amount of space that ships would need to cover, and they can't be everywhere to catch everyone, unfortunately." - Lt. Stephanie Murdock, U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet "If you were to, say, offer them immediately $10 million, $20 million, they would say, 'Well, that's easy. We'd like another $20 million.' Until they become convinced that they're not going to get one penny more, they're not going to release that crew." - Brian Jenkins, Rand Corporation Warm Up Questions 1. What is a pirate? 2. How are pirates different in modern times than they were during "Pirates of the Caribbean" time in the 1600s? Discussion Questions 1. What should be done to deal with the pirate problem? 2. Why do the pirates take over these ships? Look into what life is like on the Somali coast, is that a reason. 3. Would you pay ransom to a pirate to get one of your employees back? How much would you pay? 4. Do you think governments should do something to protect these ships, or should it be up to the ships to protect themselves? Additional Resources Read the transcript Watch other NewsHour pirate coverage