Captured pirate headed to U.S. base

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The surviving pirate from the failed attempt to hijack the cargo ship Maersk Alabama is being held aboard a U.S. refueling ship, Defense Department officials told CNN Friday.

The refueling ship, the USNS Walter S. Diehl, was with the warship USS Bainbridge at the scene of the failed hijacking that turned into a hostage ordeal 350 miles off the Somalian coast.

Three other pirates who were holding the Maersk Alabama's captain in the ship's lifeboat were killed by Navy SEALs.

The pirate captive, known in official documents as "Pirate Defendant," will be taken off the Diehl by helicopter when the ship arrives at Djibouti over the weekend, and transferred to Camp Lemonier, a former French military airfield that is now the U.S. base, the officials said.

Once there, he will be handed over to the custody of the Justice Department, the officials said.

After the hostage ordeal was ended Sunday, the pirate first was taken aboard the USS Boxer, where he received medical treatment.