索马里男子供认劫持美国商船罪行

A Somali man has pleaded guilty in New York's court to seizing a US ship and kidnapping its captain last year.

一名索马里男子在纽约某法庭审理中服罪，他曾在去年截获一艘美国船只并绑架了船长。

The Maersk Alabama was carrying aid bound for Somalia when attacked

Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse¹ now faces a minimum of 27 years in prison. He is expected to be sentenced in October.

Muse is the only surviving attacker on the Maersk Alabama merchant ship off Somalia's coast in April 2009.

He was captured by the US Navy, whose sharpshooters（神枪手，狙击兵） killed three other pirates trying to escape on a lifeboat, saving the captain.

'Very sorry'

During the trial in federal court in Manhattan, prosecutors² described Muse as a ringleader（罪魁祸首，元凶） of a gang of four pirates who seized the Maersk Abalaba some 450km (280 miles) off the coast of Somalia.

A criminal complaint also said Muse was the first to board the vessel³, firing his AK-47 assault rifle（突击步枪，冲锋枪） at Captain Richard Phillips.

On Tuesday, Muse said through an interpeter: "I am very, very sorry about what we did. All of this was about the problems in Somalia."

It is said to be the first piracy⁴ trial in the US in decades.

The vessel, which was carrying food aid, was seized by the four pirates in April 2009.

Capt Phillips then told his crew to lock themselves in a cabin and surrendered himself to safeguard his men.

He was later taken hostage in an enclosed lifeboat（封闭式救生艇） that was soon shadowed by US warships⁵ and a helicopter.

The stand-off only ended several days later when Navy sharpshooters killed three of the pirates, saving the captain.