The American ship captain taken hostage by pirates in the Indian Ocean jumped into the water from their drifting lifeboat in an attempt to escape early Friday, but he was quickly recaptured, a defense official said.

The standoff unfolding on the high seas off the coast of Somalia intensified Friday as U.S. naval reinforcements moved toward the scene. There were also reports that the pirates, desperate to reach shore with their captive, had themselves called in additional vessels and men.

French authorities, meanwhile, said Friday that they had intervened to end a separate pirate hostage situation off the coast of Somalia, one of the most notoriously lawless stretches of international waters. French forces moved to retake a yacht that had been hijacked last weekend, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said in a statement. The operation left one hostage and two of the pirates dead. Four other hostages, including a child, survived, and three pirates were captured.

U.S. defense officials apparently have been reluctant to take such an aggressive approach to the hostage standoff involving the captain of the Maersk Alabama, Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage Wednesday when four Somali pirates commandeered the U.S.-flagged container ship.

The Navy has asked hostage negotiators with the FBI for their assistance. Gen. David Petraeus, the head of Central Command and the overall military commander for the region, said Thursday that other warships were headed to the scene.

Defense officials said there were indications that the lifeboat was moving slowly in the direction of the Somali coast. There were some reports on Thursday that the boat had run out of fuel and was adrift in the Indian Ocean, but that did not appear to be the case, officials said on Friday. Even so, defense officials said it was likely that the boat was moving no more than 3 to 4 knots an hour, meaning it was still days from the coast.

Officials said FBI negotiators in Quantico, Va., were in contact with the pirates via a communications link on the Navy destroyer Bainbridge, which was within sight of the lifeboat.

An American defense official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak about the matter, said Phillips was in the water for a short period before the pirates hauled him back aboard.

The official said Navy P-3 aircraft and drones launched from the Bainbridge had since flown overhead and observed Phillips "safe and sound" back on the lifeboat. The official also said he did not know whether the Navy could have rescued the captain during the brief period he spent in the water.

"I couldn't tell you the standoff distance of the ship or whether they could have taken direct action," the official said.

The Maersk Alabama, the first American vessel to be captured by pirates in some 200 years, was commandeered for a number of hours on Wednesday, but the unarmed American crew of 20 managed to overpower the pirates and retake command.

The pirates retreated into a large enclosed lifeboat, taking Phillips as a hostage and apparently seeking a cash ransom.