page_title: Frank Castellano
section_title: Maersk Alabama hijacking
hierarchical_section_title: Frank Castellano / Career / Maersk Alabama hijacking
caption_attribution_description: English: 090412-N-XXXXN-001 SOMALI BASIN (April 12, 2009) Maersk-Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips, right, stands alongside Cmdr. Frank Castellano, commanding officer of USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) after being rescued by U.S Naval Forces off the coast of Somalia. Philips was held hostage for four days by pirates. (Official U.S. Navy photo/RELEASED)
context_page_description: Francis Xavier "Frank" Castellano is a United States Navy captain currently assigned as the commanding officer of Center for Surface Combat Systems. Castellano is best known as the commander of the guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge during the hijacking of MV Maersk Alabama.
  Captain Castellano was listed as executive officer of USS Vella Gulf on May 5, 2014, during a holocaust memorial ceremony in Haifa, Israel. He was executive officer of Vella Gulf from December 2013 to April 2015 and was commanding officer from April 2015 to September 2015.
context_section_description: Castellano was the commanding officer of Bainbridge during the April 12, 2009 rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from pirates off the coast of Somalia. On April 12, 2009, Phillips was rescued from his pirate captors.
  According to Kirk Lippold, former commander of USS Cole and superior officer to Castellano at that time, in a statement about Castellano in the hours prior to the rescue, "He – Frank is absolutely rock solid. He is a very, very mature and experienced commanding officer. He's had command previously of one of our navy's patrol craft. So with him being on Bainbridge, I have absolute confidence that he's in the right place at the right time for a reason and that he'll do a great job there."
  Castellano stated that as the winds picked up, tensions rose among the pirates and "we calmed them" and persuaded the pirates to be towed by Bainbridge. Vice Admiral William E. Gortney reported the rescue began when Castellano determined that Phillips' life was in imminent danger and ordered the action. President Barack Obama had previously given orders to take no action unless it was determined that Phillips' life was in immediate danger.
  A reporter summarized Vice Admiral William Gortney's description of the final events: "Just before the shooting, Capt. Phillips was topside of the lifeboat. One pirate was behind him, pointing an AK-47 rifle at him. The head and shoulders of each of the other two pirates were also visible above deck of the enclosed lifeboat. Determining that Phillips might be shot at any moment, the commander ordered the action." Castellano stated, "[We] ultimately believed the pirates were about to kill the captain. That's what was the decision point."
  U.S. Navy SEAL snipers on Bainbridge's fantail opened fire and killed the three pirates remaining in the lifeboat. Bainbridge had the lifeboat under tow approximately 25 m (82 ft) astern at the time. A fourth pirate was aboard Bainbridge negotiating a ransom and was taken prisoner. The U.S. Navy evacuated Maersk Alabama's captain, Richard Phillips, to Bainbridge and then flew him by helicopter to USS Boxer for a medical evaluation.
caption: Castellano with Captain Phillips after the latter's rescue from pirates in April 2009.
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