WASHINGTON — FBI agents planned to interview the crew of a U.S. cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, on Saturday as the bureau began building a criminal case against Somali pirates who attacked the ship.
Whether criminal charges ever get filed could depend on how the standoff between Navy warships and the pirates ends. The pirates hope to evade capture by returning to lawless Somalia.
Attorney General Eric Holder said last week that the Justice Department had not seen a case of piracy against a U.S. ship in a very long time. But authorities have prepared for such an event as the threat of piracy along the African coast has risen.
Under U.S. law, crimes aboard U.S. ships or against U.S. citizens can be prosecuted in U.S. courts, even when they occur in international waters. The Associated Press
