The SY ''Quest'' incident occurred in February 2011 when

Somali pirate Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel, and Indian Ocean, in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding places and has a long troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. I ...

s seized the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

SY ''Quest'' (s/v ''Quest'') and four United States citizens. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

ordered the

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering carrier-based aircraft, shipborne aircraft. Typically it is the ...

USS ''Enterprise'' and three other ships to free the hostages. All four hostages were shot by their captors. The SY ''Quest'' was the first U.S. vessel captured by Somali pirates since the ''Maersk Alabama'' in 2009.

Incident

According to American reports, the SY ''Quest'' was captured on 18 February 2011 at 13.23 UTC by nineteen pirates in a

mothership A mother ship, mothership or mother-ship is a large vehicle that leads, serves, or carries other smaller vehicles. A mother ship may be a maritime ship, aircraft, or spacecraft. Examples include bomber aircraft, bombers converted to carry exp ...

, 190 to 240 miles off the coast of

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

around in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. Pirates then tried sailing the SY ''Quest'' towards

Puntland Puntland is an autonomous state that considers itself to be part of Somalia, despite not accepting the legitimacy of Somalia's current governing administration. It was formed in 1998, and was a federal member state of Somalia from its fou ...

. Sometime thereafter USS ''Enterprise'', the

guided missile cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to s ...

USS ''Leyte Gulf'' and the

guided missile destroyer A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a pr ...

s USS ''Sterett'' and USS ''Bulkeley'' were sent to the area; they arrived several days later on or about 21 February.

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Dee Mewbourne, of the ''Enterprise'', and Navigator Christopher Saindon opened negotiations with the pirates, at which time two Somalis went aboard the ''Sterett''. As negotiations continued the following morning, 22 February, a pirate aboard the SY ''Quest'' fired a

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...

at the ''Sterett'' from 600 yards away but it missed. Almost immediately afterward, gunfire was heard aboard the yacht, so a boarding party was sent in on a raft and they boarded the SY ''Quest''. In a brief skirmish that followed, two pirates were killed, one by rifle fire and the other by a combat knife. Thirteen pirates surrendered and were taken into custody. Navy officials said all four hostages were shot by their captors: Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle, of

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, and the SY ''Quest''s owners, Jean and Scott Adam of

Marina del Rey Marina del Rey ( Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The eponymous harbor is a major boating and water recreation destination of the Greater Los Angeles ar ...

, California. The bodies of two other pirates were also found aboard the SY ''Quest'' though United States Navy officials had no explanation for their deaths. A few days later,

Vice Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Mark I. Fox, said the Americans had no intention of attacking but were obligated after hearing small-arms fire. The pirate leader Mohamud, in Somalia, claimed that the hostages were killed because the American warships started to attack and he told

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

that "we ordered our comrades to kill the four Americans before they got killed." The leader Farah, in Bayla, Puntland, told Reuters, "I lost the money I invested and my comrades. No forgiveness for the Americans. Revenge. Our business will go on". He said he had spent $110,000 on food, weapons, and salaries for the hijacking. Thirteen of the pirates were found to be Somalis and the other a

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

i; they were sent to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

to face charges of piracy and kidnapping.

Trial

On 8 July 2013 Ahmed Muse Salad, a/k/a "Afmagalo", 27, Abukar Osman Beyle, 33, and Shani Nurani Shiekh Abrar, 31–those who actually killed the 4 hostages–were found guilty of piracy, murder within the

Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States In United States law, a federal enclave is a parcel of federal property within a state considered under the Special Maritime and Territorial Jurisdiction of the United States. These enclaves are used for the many different functions of the U.S. ...

, violence against maritime navigation, conspiracy to commit violence against maritime navigation resulting in death, kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, hostage taking resulting in death, conspiracy to commit hostage taking resulting in death and multiple firearms offenses. All three were sentenced in November 2013 and all received 21 life sentences, 19 consecutive life sentences and 2 concurrent life sentences, and 30 years consecutive. According to U.S. federal law, committing an act of piracy resulting in death has a mandatory life sentence.Nasaw, Daniel.
Somali pirates face hard time in US prison
" ''

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

''. 3 October 2011. Retrieved on 6 February 2016. 14 men were prosecuted in the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in case citations, E.D. Va.) is one of two United States district courts serving the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has jurisdiction over the Northern Virginia, Hampton Roa ...

for taking part in seizing of ''Quest''. Federal prosecutors sought the death penalty for Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle, and Shani Nurani Abrar, however, they were sentenced to life in prison. Mohammed Saaili Shibin who acted as a negotiator between the pirates and U.S. forces was also sentenced to life imprisonment. All the defendants names, BOP Numbers, sentences and places of incarceration are listed below:

External links

Welcome to s/v Quest Adventure Log
(Archive)

References

10. "Hunter Killer". Novel by Lt-Col McCurley and Kevin Maurer {{DEFAULTSORT:Quest incident, SY Conflicts in 2011

Quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nat ...

Piracy in Somalia February 2011 in Somalia

February 2011 in Africa

Incident

Trial

See also

External links

References