[3] According to American reports, the SY Quest was captured on 18 February 2011 at 13.23 UTC by nineteen pirates in a mothership, 190 to 240 miles off the coast of Oman around 18°00′N 61°02′E / 18.000°N 61.033°E / 18.000; 61.033 in the Indian Ocean.

Captain Dee Mewbourne, of the Enterprise, and Navigator Christopher Saindon opened negotiations with the pirates, at which time two Somalis went aboard the Sterett.

As negotiations continued the following morning, 22 February, a pirate aboard the SY Quest fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Sterett from 600 yards away but it missed.

Navy officials said all four hostages were shot by their captors: Phyllis Macay and Robert Riggle, of Seattle, Washington, and the SY Quest's owners, Jean and Scott Adam of Marina del Rey, California.

[3][5] The bodies of two other pirates were also found aboard the SY Quest though United States Navy officials had no explanation for their deaths.

Federal prosecutors sought the death penalty for Ahmed Muse Salad, Abukar Osman Beyle, and Shani Nurani Abrar, however, they were sentenced to life in prison.