WASHINGTON (AP) - Now that the captain and crew of the Maersk Alabama are back home, lawmakers want to hear about their ordeal firsthand as Congress considers news ways to combat piracy on the high seas.
Congressional aides said Friday that efforts were under way to have Capt. Richard Phillips and his crew testify on Capitol Hill. Phillips returned home to Vermont on Friday and was reunited with his family.
House Foreign Affairs Committee spokesman Mark Forest said Chairman Bill Delahunt, D-Mass., has reached out to the father of crew member Sean Murphy about testifying before the panel as early as next week.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., also is interested in hearing from the captain and crew about the pirates’ methods and operations.
The pirates held Phillips for five days in an ordeal that highlighted a dangerous spike in piracy off the coast of Somalia. He was saved by Navy sharpshooters on Sunday.
(This version CORRECTS ADDS details, attribution; corrects House committee to Foreign Affairs; will be led)
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