The sole surviving Somali pirate from the hostage-taking of an American ship captain arrived in New York, smiling for a gaggle of cameras and reporters as federal agents led him into custody to face charges in the attack at a court hearing Tuesday.

The cargo-ship captain who was recently freed from his pirate captors boarded a company plane Friday at the airport in Mombasa, Kenya, for a flight back to the United States.

Pirates have attacked a cargo ship with a crew of at least 20 U.S. nationals, according to the company that owns the vessel.