World | pirates As Ship Resumes Sailing, FBI Joins Pirate Negotiations By Kevin Spak Posted Apr 9, 2009 10:26 AM CDT Copied In this family photo released on Wednesday, April 8, 2009, Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill, Vt., is seen. (AP Photo) As FBI hostage negotiators joined the effort to end the standoff with Somali pirates over a captive American captain, the Maersk Alabama got under way today, bound for its original destination, the AP reports. An FBI spokesman said the bureau was “fully engaged” with the Navy in strategizing how to extract Capt. Richard Phillips without resorting to combat. The cargo ship made for Mombasa, Kenya, with 18 new passengers—a military team of armed guards. Meanwhile, the Pentagon substantially stepped up its monitoring of the situation, sending a P-3 Orion surveillance aircraft to collect videos of the scene. And a spokesman said the pirates have issued no demands to the Maersk shipping company. Read These Next Scott Pelley unloaded on his 60 Minutes bosses. Virginia bus crash killed an entire family as they drove to wedding. Jerome Powell uses speech to criticize political pressure. The fastest-shrinking US cities reveal a growing divide. Report an error