A photo of Jean and Scott Adam, who have been sailing around the world since December 2004, taken from the Quest website.
Updated: Sat Feb. 19 2011 11:26:44 AM
The first secretary at Somalia's United Nations mission said Friday that pirates had hijacked the S/V Quest and were holding four U.S. citizens hostage.
Calling for the immediate release of the hostages and any others held captive by the pirates, Omar Jamal said the incident raises "serious concern".
Echoing that tone, the deputy commander of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet told CNN on Saturday that the U.S. military is prepared to intervene to rescue the couple if they were in fact aboard the hijacked vessel.
Speaking directly, a U.S. military spokesman at Central Command in Florida told The Associated Press: "We're aware of the situation and we continue to monitor it."
According to a website chronicling the voyage of a yacht bearing the name S/V Quest, it is the floating home of Jean and Scott Adam, a retired American couple who have been sailing the globe since 2002. The site states the pair took on two new crew members last year.
The couple write on their website that they run a Bible ministry, and have been delivering Bibles to schools and churches in remote communities from Alaska to New Zealand.
In their planned itinerary for 2011, the couple planned to sail from Sri Lanka to the Mediterranean, via the Suez Canal. Their yacht was apparently en route from India to Oman when it was attacked.
"Djibouti is a big refueling stop," Jean Adam wrote describing plans to land in the tiny East African nation directly north of Somalia. "I have NO idea what will happen in these ports, but perhaps we'll do some local touring. Due north is the Red Sea where we plan to tuck in when winds turn to the north."
On Friday, Interpol's maritime piracy task force announced a US$2.17 million commitment to help seven African nations fight piracy in the waters off the coast of East Africa.
But because Somali pirates typically attack cargo vessels plying the busy shipping lanes around the Horn of Africa -- commanding millions in ransom for their release -- most private yachts are left to navigate the area without the protection of international anti-piracy forces.
In addition to the S/V Quest, Somali pirates are believed to be responsible for holding 30 ships and more than 660 hostages.
A recent study pegged the cost of piracy on the global economy at between US$7B and US$12B annually.
The Quest was captured two days after a New York court sentenced Somali pirate Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse to 33 years in prison for his part in the 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama.
That incident captured the world's attention when U.S.Navy sharpshooters killed two pirates holding the ship's captain, Richard Phillips. Muse was the only surviving pirate.
In the wake of Muse's sentencing, a pirate identified only as "Hassan" told the AP that other Americans should expect "regrettable consequences" in retaliation.
With files from The Associated Press