MONTPELIER, Vt. — A cargo ship captain who spent five days as a hostage of Somali pirates says in a new book that it was a high-seas double-cross that led to his brutal ordeal in a sweltering lifeboat.

Richard Phillips writes that after the Maersk Alabama was seized by AK-47-wielding pirates, one of the captors was taken captive by the ship’s crew. The crew agreed to release him if the pirates released Phillips, who was already captive. He says they reneged at the last minute and kept him hostage.

He says he learned something: “Don’t make deals with pirates.”

The 286-page hardcover, titled “A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS and Dangerous Days at Sea,” hits bookstores Tuesday.

Phillips lives in Underhill, Vt.

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AP

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