Apparently, before they were boarded all of the crew except the captain were able to get into a "safe room". The pirates boarded and were confused
The crew managed to capture one of the pirates, and the captain struck a deal for he and the pirates to leave on a lifeboat while the crew and the ship were set free.
I do understand that Somalia is in bad straights right now. I can understand that robbing others may seem like the best way out of the situation for those who live there. I don't see where that justifies the actions, no matter what you want to say about the state (or lack thereof) of lawfulness and government in Somalia. I don't suffer "poor me" very well... I do, however, support "see how I'm getting out of this with my head held high" extremely well.
I think Felix has something... find the heads and cut them off (*WAY* below the neckline...) and you'll do a lot more to clean things up.
I have a *real* hard time finding sympathy for the pirates, just like I have a hard time finding sympathy for most criminals. It's a choice...