360: Robert D’Amico – Somali Pirates Fatal Hijacking of SV Quest

In this episode, retired agent Robert D’Amico reviews his involvement, as a member of the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), in a Navy SEAL’s mission to rescue four Americans taken hostage by Somali pirates on the SV Quest, and, after the mission’s deadly outcome, his capture of the pirates’ shore-based negotiator.

This episode is dedicated to the US Navy SEALs deployed to rescue the SV Quest, who lost their lives six months later onboard Extortion 17–shot down in Afghanistan on August 6, 2011.

Special Agent (Retired)

Robert C. D’Amico

02/1995 – 02/2021

Rob D’Amico served in the FBI for twenty-seven years. His first assignment was to the Miami Division, where he apprehended the most violent felons of South Florida as a member of a multi-agency violent crime fugitive task force. Rob then transitioned into deep undercover work against the most notorious U.S. and Italian based organized crime families.

His prior his ten years in the United States Marine Corps, working reconnaissance missions, led to Rob’s selection to the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team, in which he served as a sniper and was first deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Driven by an interest in evolving technologies, he contributed to the HRT’s “Tech Shop.” His award-winning designs enhanced the group’s domestic and overseas operations.

Rob’s time on the HRT placed him at each pivotal step in the resolution of kidnapping and hostile detention matters. He has worked on every facet of operations—negotiating hostage releases and exchanges, operated under the highest pressure against pirates, negotiators, warlords, leaders of terrorist networks as well as with ambassadors, generals, foreign ministers, and non-government organizations. Rob was named the first FBI/HRT Tactical Liaison to Joint Special Operations Command, National Mission Force Units, and United States Marine Corps, where he oversaw all FBI personnel embedded in counterterrorism task forces around the globe and was frequently deployed on no-notice overseas contingency operations. As the senior FBI advisor to the commanding general, he shaped all FBI-JSOC operations and senior leader engagements. He ended his time on the HRT as the Deputy Operations Chief based in Quantico Virginia.

Before and after this assignment, Rob was the Assistant Legal Attaché (ALAT) embedded liaison to Counterterrorism Task Force in Bagram Afghanistan and the Legal Attaché (LEGAT) in Kabul, Afghanistan.

After returning to the Bureau’s domestic efforts, he led the counter-drone unit—and, for several years, was tasked with protecting national events such as the Super Bowl and World Series before retiring from the federal government.

Upon his retirement, Rob was initially appointed as a Chief Security Officer for a large international corporation where he built an AI-integrated surveillance approach to enhance security for large multi-discipline entertainment and top sporting events. He serves as an advisory council member of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, and an advisory board member of Dedrone, one of the top counter-drone companies in the world.

Currently, Rob is Founder and Principal Consultant for Sierra One Consulting. Based on his professional expertise, he has provided news commentary for the top national media outlets in the country and is currently under contract as a national security and law enforcement analyst with MSNBC/NBC.

He is also the host of the Inside The Line podcast with Rob, which is currently on YouTube but coming to podcast apps soon.The first episode of his podcast features an interview about the Somali pirate case with retired agent Kate Kelley, the evidence response team agent in charge of the crime scene on the SV Quest .

The following are links to news articles about the hijacking of the SV Quest by Somali pirates:

Sail World – 2/28/2011: Quest incident – the final moments

ABC News – 2/19/2011: Somali Pirates Seize a Yacht, the Quest, with Four Americans on Board

FBI Website Release – 4/13/2011: Alleged Somali Hostage Negotiator Charged with Piracy, Kidnapping Charges

Christian Science monitor – 4/13/2011: US seizes man in Somalia, says he was pirates’ negotiator in fatal hijacking

BBC News – 10/3/2011: Somali pirates get life in jail

Press Release U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia – 1/14/2013: Somali Pirates Sentenced To Multiple Life Sentences In Murder Of Four Americans Aboard SV QUEST

REUTERS – 8/13/2012: Somali pirate negotiator receives 12 life sentences in U.S. court

Listen to FBI Retired Case File Review episode 137: Mark Thundercloud – Negotiating Philippine Kidnapping, Captain Phillips to learn more about how the FBI negotiates for the release of Americans kidnapped overseas.

The following are images related to the hijacking of the SV Quest by Somali pirates:

Rob was selected to the HRT in 1999 and served until 2015.
The route of the sailing vessel Quest as it attempted to cross the Arabian Sea. (Credit Sail World) Click image to learn more.
Sailing vessel Quest tethered to the guided missile destroyer USS Sterett after the rescue attempt.
SV Quest tethered to the USS Sterett.
Interior of the Quest after the assault.
Below deck of the Quest after the assault.
Rob in foreground with HRT teammate Brian (wearing hat) and the navy sailors who repaired the Quest’s motor and drove it back to shore.
Mohammad Shibin served as the negotiator for the pirates and was captured in Somali by Rob and his partners and taken to the U.S. to stand trial.
Rob in Bosaso, Somalia to arrest Shibin with Brian from HRT and a classified Special Ops team.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Jerri Williams

View posts by Jerri Williams
Jerri Williams, a retired FBI agent, author and podcaster, jokes that she writes about the FBI to relive her glory days. After 26 years with the Bureau specializing in major economic fraud and corruption investigations, she calls on her professional encounters with scams and schemers to write police procedurals inspired by true crime FBI cases in her Philadelphia FBI Corruption Squad crime fiction series. Jerri’s FBI for Armchair Detectives nonfiction series enables readers to discover who the FBI is and what the FBI does by debunking misconceptions about the FBI in books, TV, and movies. Her books are available as ebooks, paperbacks, and audiobooks wherever books are sold. She’s the host of FBI Retired Case File Review, a true crime podcast with more than 300 episodes available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and all popular podcast apps, as well as YouTube.

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