page_title: Richard Phillips (merchant mariner)
section_title: Maersk Alabama hijacking
hierarchical_section_title: Richard Phillips (merchant mariner) / Career / Maersk Alabama hijacking
caption_attribution_description: English: A team from the USS Boxer (LHD 4) tows one of the Maersk Alabama lifeboats to the Boxer to be processed for evidence in the Indian Ocean on April 13, 2009. Capt. Richard Phillips was held captive in the lifeboat by suspected Somali pirates for five days following a failed hijacking attempt off the Somali coast. The Boxer is deployed as part of Boxer Amphibious Readiness Group along with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit supporting Maritime Security Operations in the Navyâ€™s 5th fleet area of operations.
context_page_description: Richard Phillips is an American merchant mariner and author who served as captain of the MV Maersk Alabama during its hijacking by Somali pirates in April 2009.
context_section_description: On April 7, 2009, the U.S. Maritime Administration, following NATO advisories, released a Somalia Gulf of Aden "advisory to mariners" recommending ships to stay at least 600 nautical miles (1,100 km; 690 mi) off Somalia's coast of east Africa. With these advisories in effect, on April 8, 2009, four Somali pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama when it was located around 300 nmi (560 km) southeast of the Somalian port city of Eyl. With a crew of 20, the ship departed from Salalah, Oman en route to Mombasa, Kenya. The ship was carrying 17,000 metric tons of cargo, of which 5,000 metric tons were relief supplies bound for Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda. "In that area of the world, any blip on your radar is of concern," said Phillips, "I always told my crew it was a matter of when, not if."
  According to Chief Engineer Mike Perry, the crew sank the pirate speedboat shortly after the boarding by continuously swinging the rudder of the Maersk Alabama, thus swamping the smaller boat. As the pirates were boarding the ship, the crew members locked themselves in the engine room. The crew later overpowered one of the pirates. The crew attempted to exchange the captured pirate, whom they had kept tied up for twelve hours, for Phillips. According to a crew member, Phillips and the pirates got into the ship's rescue boat, but it would not start, so the crew dropped a lifeboat and met the pirates to switch prisoners and boats. The captured pirate was released, but the pirates left with Phillips in the lifeboat before the crew could take action. The lifeboat was carrying ten days of food rations, water, and basic survival supplies.
  On April 8, the destroyer USS Bainbridge and the frigate USS Halyburton were dispatched to the Gulf of Aden in response to the hostage situation, and reached Maersk Alabama early on April 9. Maersk Alabama then departed from the area with an armed escort, towards its original destination of the port of Mombasa.  On Saturday, April 11, Maersk Alabama arrived in Mombasa, still under U.S. military escort. Captain Larry Aasheim then assumed command. Aasheim had previously been captain of the Maersk Alabama until Richard Phillips relieved him eight days prior to the pirate attack. An 18-man marine security team was on board. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation secured the ship as a crime scene.
  On April 9, a standoff began between the Bainbridge and the pirates in the Maersk Alabamas lifeboat, where they continued to hold Phillips hostage.  Three days later, on Sunday, April 12, U.S. Navy marksmen from DEVGRU (formerly known as SEAL Team Six) opened fire and killed the three pirates on the lifeboat, and Phillips was rescued.  The Bainbridge captain Commander Frank Castellano ordered the action after determining that Phillips' life was in immediate danger, based on reports that a pirate was pointing an AK-47 automatic rifle at his back. Navy SEAL snipers on Bainbridge's fantail opened fire, killing the three pirates with bullets to the head; one of the pirates was named Ali Aden Elmi, another's last name was Hamac, and the third remains unidentified. A fourth pirate, Abduwali Muse, aboard the Bainbridge and speaking with military negotiators while being treated for an injury sustained in the takeover of Maersk Alabama, surrendered and was taken into custody.  He later pleaded guilty to hijacking, kidnapping and hostage-taking charges and was sentenced to over 33 years in prison.
caption: Capt. Phillips was held captive in the lifeboat by suspected Somali pirates for five days.
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