Somali Pirates Seize 4 Americans

Feb. 18, 2011 — -- U.S. officials confirm that a yacht with Americans aboard has been seized by Somali pirates in the waters of the Indian Ocean.

The advocacy group Ecoterra International says its monitoring of regional maritime activity off the coast of East Africa indicates four Americans aboard the yacht S/V Quest were seized by pirates 240 nautical miles off the coast of Oman.

U.S. officials confirm to ABC News that the yacht has been seized by pirates, but say it is unclear how many Americans may have been aboard have been aboard at the time the boat was seized. One U.S. official said there were two males and two females aboard the vessel at the time that it was seized.

It is believed that Somali pirates currently have 29 ships in their possession and are holding 660 crewmembers hostage.

Lt. Commander Susie Thomson, a spokesperson for the Combined Maritime Forces that patrol the waters of the Middle East, confirmed the Quest incident, but could provide no details.

"We've seen the reports and all the appropriate government agencies are closely monitoring the situation," said U.S. Central Command spokesman Lt. Col. Michael T Lawhorn.

A U.S. official said, "We are still looking at what the options are."

The 58-foot S/V Quest is owned by Jean and Scott Adam, who have been sailing the boat around the world for the past seven years.

The Adams are members of the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina Del Rey, California. Contacted by ABC News, a marina manager there said he knew of the situation, but was unwilling to comment or give further details at this time.

The couple details their travels on a website, an entry from last December listed their stops in 2011 as "Galle, Sri Lanka; Cochin, India; Salalah, Oman; Djibouti, Djibouti; The Suez Canal; and Crete. That gets us to April."