US captain hailed a hero after dramatic rescue

President Barack Obama said last night that the courage shown by the US merchant captain taken hostage by pirates off the coast of Somalia was a "model for all Americans". He was speaking after it emerged that the US Navy snipers who shot dead three pirates on Sunday had done so on the President's authority when it was judged that Captain Richard Phillips's life was in imminent danger.

Negotiations for a peaceful settlement appeared to be in progress when three of the pirates, holding Phillips in a lifeboat bobbing in rough seas, suddenly turned their AK-47s on the American. A split-second decision was taken on board the destroyer USS Bainbridge to shoot the pirates. All three were shot dead. A fourth pirate, who was on board the Bainbridge at the time, taking part in talks to bring the drama to a peaceful conclusion, surrendered.

As Phillips recuperated from his ordeal, President Obama said: "I share the country's admiration for the bravery of Captain Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew."

Phillips was seized last Wednesday after the Somali pirates, using ropes and hooks, scrambled aboard his container ship, the Maersk Alabama, carrying food aid bound for Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda, and began shooting in the air. Phillips told his crew of 20 to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men. He was then taken hostage and moved to an enclosed lifeboat.

On Friday he made an attempt to escape by diving into the sea. But he was quickly spotted by the pirates and hauled back onto the lifeboat.

Although the Maersk Alabama was the first vessel under US control to be attacked by pirates in more than two centuries, the Navy was determined to avoid a shoot-out for fear of escalating the already tense situation in the Indian Ocean.

But when the pirates turned their weapons on Phillips, he was judged to be in imminent danger. The snipers, thought to to be Navy Seals (commandos) flown to the Bainbridge from a base in Africa, had to fire from the stern of the destroyer. Although the lifeboat was only 20 to 30 metres away, the sea was rough and both vessels were bucking.

‘This could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it’

On board the Maersk Alabama, which had been escorted to Mombasa, Kenya after Phillips gave himself up to the pirates, there were scenes of jubilation yesterday when the news came through that the ship's captain was safe. The crew hung an American flag over the railing and were seen pumping their fists in the air.

However, there were growing fears overnight that the incident could lead to a rise in violence. Vice Admiral William Gortney, head of the US Naval Central Command, said: "This could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it."

In Eyl, a pirate stronghold on the Somali coast, one pirate told the Associated Press that the US Navy had become the "number one enemy". He said: "From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill them [the hostages]."

He was including France in his comments: on Friday, in a separate incident, French special forces rescued four French citizens, including a three-year-old boy, from the Tanit, a luxury yacht en route to Zanzibar hijacked by Somali pirates. The yacht's owner, Florent Lemacon, was killed during the rescue operation along with two pirates. ·