Drama on the high seas

The father of one of the crew members of the Maersk Alabama confirms his son is now safe.

First, let me say our prayers are with Captain Richard Phillips and his family today as he remains a hostage of pirates on the seas off the Somali coast. Read the latest.

From the minute we went to air today at 6am (1pm local time off the Horn of Africa), American Morning was able to bring our viewers the latest information, developments and perspective thanks to our global resources and incredible booking and producing staff. We had Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr in Bahrain with Naval Commanders, we had Jason Carroll at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy where the father of one of the crew on the Maersk Alabama actually trains cadets to battle the pirates as a last resort. See the video. He also gave us incredible insight on what it must be like for Capt. Phillips awaiting rescue on the life boat, captive at the hands of pirates. Read the interview.

We also asked the questions many of our viewers want to know about how to best crack down on this growing threat. Who has control of these international waters? Would we take military action in the waters or even on the shores of Somalia? And would arming the crews of these huge cargo ships make things better or worse?

We are following all the latest developments and hoping this ends happily for the captain and crew of the Maersk Alabama.

Kiran