guinea off the coast of nigeria. this has become a prime hunting ground for pirates. the most memorable pirate attack on an american is now a hit movie. captain richard phillips was kidnapped by somalia pirates and held hostage for five days at sea before he was rescued by navy s.e.a.l.s. but those nigerian pirates will pose a more of a threat. you got to understand it s dangerous out in the gulf of guunea. reporter: acts of piracy have decreased pirate attacks off the coast of nigeria have skyrocketed 30% this year. this is not a hollywood movie plot. piracy and hijacking put innocent lives at risk. reporter: defense officials here at the pentagon tell us that a u.s. military rescue
can compromise and get things done and they are looking at women to fill that role because women are seen as better compromisers. that s both sides are hearing this message and looking at women candidates. there you go. leigh, stay with us. still ahead was kidnapped by somalia pirates in 2009. his incredible story is playing out on the big screen starring tom thanks. our conversation with captain richard phillips is just ahead. jc: lunch at that one restaurant we all like? ron: i m sorry, who are you? jc: i m your coworker! c mon guys. i m driving. hey, you guys comfortable? it s best-in-class rear legroom. and with a turbo engine that gets 35 highway m-p-g. you know j.d. power ranked passat the most appealing midsize car two years in a row? i bet, uh, dan here wishes somebody found him most appealing two years in a row. ron: it s ron jc: ron. exactly. vo: get 0 down, 0 due at signing, 0 deposit, and 0 first month s payment on passat or any new 2014 volkswagen.
four pirates on board. four pirates. down the main deck. walk down the bridge. listen up. we have been boarded by four armed pirates. you know the drill. we stay here no matter what. i don t want any hostages. that was a scene from captain phillips based on a true story of a u.s. ship attacked by somali pirates in 2009. it opened at number two and it s not every day tom hanks plays you in a movie. you had to explain a few things. i think it was eddie munster. it s not every day you survive being held hostage by pirates. captain richard fill i7s sat
these individuals. even after so many years. but i think at the same time there is a move to move to use more than one tool in the box. you know, for many years we used the drones. but now it seems that we decided to usele also law enforcement a intelligence. excellent, thank you so much, good to have you on. for more of the story you can go to cnn.com. and up next, the captain taken hostage by somalia pirates. his story is a blockbuster with tom hank, i really want to see it. but some say the portrayal of him in the film is wrong, we ll explore those charges. and also tonight, elizabeth smart, an amazing courageous woman talking about her imprisonment at a camp with her kidnap. er.
stuff about him giving himself up, and he is still a hostage. the whole crew is like what? everybody is in shock. reporter: back in 2010, the alabama s chief engineer, mike perry, told us he and most of the crew couldn t believe the story being painted about their captain, captain richard philips, that he had given himself up for the safety of his crew. left out of the entire story, says perry, is the captain s reckless that steered the maersk alabama into treacherous waters. perry is talking about e-mails sent by the maritime agency specifically warning of somali pirate attacks and advising ships to steer at least 600 miles off the coast. the alabama, according to its logs, was only about 300 miles offshore and what is more,