WASHINGTON, April 12 US naval forces rescued cargo ship captain Richard Phillips from captivity at the hands of Somali pirates in a dramatic ending to a five-day standoff, the US Navy said on Sunday.

The US Navy said Phillips was freed unharmed and that naval forces killed three of four pirates who had held him hostage on a lifeboat after trying to seize his vessel. It said a fourth pirate was in custody.

“I can tell you that he is free and that he is safe,” Navy Lieutenant Commander John Daniels said.

Phillips, captain of the US-flagged Maersk Alabama container ship, had contacted his family, received a routine medical evaluation, and was resting comfortably aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer.

“We are all absolutely thrilled to learn that Richard is safe and will be reunited with his family,” Maersk Line chief executive John Reinhart said in a statement.

Phillips, 53, was the first American taken captive by Somali pirate gangs who have harassed the Indian Ocean shipping lanes for years.

Three US warships had been watching the situation. US Navy spotters saw Phillips on Sunday morning, the Maersk Line said.

The Maersk Alabama, a container carrying food aid for people of Somalia, was attacked far out in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday, but its 20 American crew apparently fought off the pirates and regained control.

Phillips volunteered to go with the pirates in a Maersk Alabama lifeboat in exchange for the crew, said Vice Adm Bill Gortney, commander, US Naval Forces Central Command.

“The actions of Captain Phillips and the civilian mariners of Maersk-Alabama were heroic. They fought back to regain control of their ship, and Captain Phillips selflessly put his life in the hands of these armed criminals in order to protect his crew,” he said in a statement.

Joseph Murphy, whose son, Shane, was Phillips's second in command and took over the Alabama after pirates left with Phillips, said in a statement read by CNN, “Our prayers have been answered on this Easter Sunday.”—Reuters