Maersk Alabama Hijacking

The ''Maersk Alabama'' hijacking began on 9 April 2009, when four pirates in the Indian Ocean seized the U.S. cargo ship at a distance of southeast of Eyl, Somalia. The siege ended after a rescue effort by the United States Navy on 12 April.

The incident was the first successful pirate seizure of a ship registered under the U.S. flag since the early 19th century. Many news reports cited the last pirate seizure as being during the Second Barbary War in 1815, although other incidents are believed to have occurred until at least 1822. It was the sixth vessel in a week to be attacked by pirates, who had previously extorted ransoms of tens of millions of dollars.

At the time of the hijacking, ''Maersk Alabama'' was owned by the Danish shipping company Maersk Line. The ship has since been acquired by Element Shipmanagement SA and has been renamed . , the ship is still in active service.

The story of the incident was reported by Captain Richard Phillips, who had been master of the vessel at the time of the incident, in the 2010 book '' A Captain's Duty'', which he co-wrote with Stephan Talty. The book was later adapted as the U.S. 2013 film '' Captain Phillips'', starring Tom Hanks.

Background

With a crew of 23 and of cargo, the ship, originating from Salalah, Oman, was bound for Mombasa, Kenya, after a stop in Djibouti. The crew members of ''Maersk Alabama'' had received anti-piracy training from union training schools, and had drilled aboard the ship a day prior to the attack of 8 April. Their training included the use of small arms, anti-terror, basic safety, first aid, and other security-related courses.

Events

Hijacking

On 8 April 2009, four pirates based on attacked the ship. All four of the pirates were between 15 and 18 years old, according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. When the pirate alarm sounded, Chief Engineer Mike Perry brought 14 members of the crew into a secure room that the engineers had been fortifying for such a purpose. As the pirates approached, the remaining crew fired flares. In addition, Perry and First Assistant Engineer Matt Fisher swung the ship's rudder, which swamped the pirate skiff.

Nonetheless, the ship was boarded. Perry had initially taken main engine control away from the bridge and Fisher had taken control of the steering gear. Perry then shut down all ship systems and the entire vessel "went black." The pirates captured Captain Richard Phillips and several other crew members minutes after boarding, but soon found that they could not control the ship.

Perry remained outside the secure room lying in wait, knife in hand, for the pirates to locate the missing crew members in order to gain control of the ship and presumably sail it to Somalia. Perry tackled the ringleader of the pirates, Abduwali Muse, and took him prisoner after a cat-and-mouse chase in a darkened engine room. Muse cut his hand trying to keep Perry's knife away from his neck. Muse was then tied up and his wounds were treated by Second Mate Ken Quinn.

Later, after suffering in the overheated secure room for hours, the crew attempted to exchange the pirate whom they had captured for the captain, but the exchange went awry and the pirates refused to honor the agreement after the crew released their captive. Phillips escorted the pirates to a lifeboat to show them how to operate it, but then the pirates fled in the lifeboat with Phillips as a hostage.

Hostage situation

On 8 April, the United States Navy guided-missile destroyer and the guided-missile frigate were dispatched to the Gulf of Aden in response to the hostage situation, ''Halyburton'' carrying two SH-60B Seahawk helicopters on board. The ships reached ''Maersk Alabama'' early on 9 April. ''Maersk Alabama'' was then escorted from the scene to its original destination of Mombasa where Captain Larry D. Aasheim took command of the ship. Phillips had relieved Aasheim nine days earlier. CNN and Fox News quoted sources stating that the pirates' strategy was to await the arrival of additional hijacked vessels carrying more pirates and additional hostages to use as human shields.

A stand-off began on 9 April, between ''Bainbridge'', ''Halyburton'', and the pirates' lifeboat from ''Maersk Alabama'', on which they held Phillips hostage. The lifeboat was covered and contained plenty of food and water but lacked basic comforts, including a toilet or ventilation. ''Bainbridge'' was equipped with a ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle and rigid-hulled inflatable boats. Both vessels stayed several hundred yards away, out of the pirates' range of fire. A P-3C Orion

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