Richard Phillips (born May 16, 1955) is an American
merchant mariner
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
and
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
who served as
captain of the
MV ''Maersk Alabama'' during its hijacking by
Somali pirates
Somali may refer to:
Horn of Africa
* Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region
** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis
** Somali culture
** Somali cuisine
** Somali language, a Cushitic language
** Somali, ...
in April 2009.
Early life and education
Of Irish descent, Phillips was born in Massachusetts,
and graduated from
Winchester High School in 1973.
Phillips enrolled at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...
and planned to study international law but transferred to the
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Massachusetts Maritime Academy (Mass Maritime) is a public university in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, focused on maritime-related fields. It was established in 1891 and is the second oldest state maritime academy in the United States. Originall ...
, from which he graduated in 1979.
During his schooling, Phillips worked as a taxi driver in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
.
Career
Maersk Alabama hijacking
On April 6, 2009, the
U.S. Maritime Administration, following
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
advisories, released a Somalia Gulf of Aden "advisory to mariners" recommending ships to stay at least off Somalia's coast of east Africa. With these advisories in effect, on April 8, 2009, four
Somali pirates
Somali may refer to:
Horn of Africa
* Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region
** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis
** Somali culture
** Somali cuisine
** Somali language, a Cushitic language
** Somali, ...
boarded the
''Maersk Alabama'' when it was located around southeast of the Somalian port city of
Eyl
Eyl ( it, Eil) is an ancient port town in the northeastern Nugal region of Somalia in the autonomous Puntland region, also serving as the capital of the Eyl District. Eyl, also called Illig, was the capital of the Dervishes from 1905 onwards, unt ...
. With a crew of 20, the ship had departed from
Salalah
Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169.
Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city ...
,
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...
en route to
Mombasa
Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
. The ship was carrying 17,000
metric ton
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
s 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 and the frigate 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
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
secured the ship as a crime scene.
On April 9, a standoff began between the ''Bainbridge'' and the pirates in the ''Maersk Alabama'' lifeboat, where they continued to hold Phillips hostage. Three days later, on Sunday, April 12, U.S. Navy marksmen from
DEVGRU
The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...
(commonly known as
SEAL Team Six
The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (NSWDG), abbreviated as DEVGRU ("Development Group") and commonly known as SEAL Team Six, is the United States Navy component of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). The unit is often referre ...
) 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
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...
automatic rifle at his back.
Navy SEAL
The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting s ...
snipers on ''Bainbridges
fantail
Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as " ...
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 federal prison.
Aftermath
Following the hijacking, Phillips published ''
A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea''.
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
optioned the book and acquired the
film rights
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in spring 2010.
[Kit, Borys]
"Tom Hanks to Play Capt. Richard Phillips in Somali Pirate Hostage Story"
''Hollywood Reporter'', March 15, 2011. In March 2011, it was announced that
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...
would star as Phillips,
Barkhad Abdi as
Abduwali Muse and
Faysal Ahmed
Faysal Ahmed ( so, Faysal Axmed; born 11 July 1985) is a Somali Americans, Somali–American actor from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Early life
Ahmed was born one of nine children in 1985 in Yemen. Although his family is originally from Somalia, he g ...
as Najee in a Sony Pictures film based on the hijacking and Phillips' book, scripted by
Billy Ray, and produced by the team behind ''
The Social Network
''The Social Network'' is a 2010 American biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and written by Aaron Sorkin, based on the 2009 book ''The Accidental Billionaires'' by Ben Mezrich. It portrays the founding of social networking websi ...
''.
The film, titled ''
Captain Phillips'', was released on October 11, 2013 and had its premiere showing at the 2013
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...
.
In an interview on the set of ''Captain Phillips'' for ''
New York Daily News'', Phillips describes his devotion to his crew, his feeling of success as a captain and his eagerness to get back to sea. "My crew were now safe, because the pirates lost their ladder and boat when they boarded the Maersk Alabama, so they couldn't get back onboard," says Phillips. "For me it was really a relief—my crew and ship were safe." Phillips also added, "I never lost hope for myself, but I didn't see a good ending coming out of it." Phillips commented in his interview that the rendition of the events is accurate, adding, "When I met
om Hanks I told him if he's going to play me, he's going to have to put on a little weight and get a little better-looking and he did neither."
Since the release of ''
Captain Phillips'', there has been controversy over its portrayal of Phillips, with several crew members claiming that he was not the hero presented in the film, according to lawsuits filed by more than half of the crew of the ''Maersk Alabama''. The crew members claim Phillips was at least partly at fault for an "insistence on being fast and making money ...
etting
Etting (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Ettinge'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France.
The village belongs to the Pays de Bitche.
See also
* Communes of the Moselle department
The ...
the Alabama within 250 miles of the Somali coast..."
Phillips told CNN's Drew Griffin in 2010 and in a court deposition in 2013 that he ignored the numerous warnings that urged him to go farther out to sea. When asked in 2013 why he decided not to take the ship farther offshore, Phillips testified, "I don't believe 600 miles would make you safe. I didn't believe 1,200 miles would make you safe. As I told the crew, it would be a matter of when, not if ... We were always in this area."
Phillips returned to sea fourteen months after the pirate attack,
sailing as Master of the vehicle carrier M/V ''Green Bay'' until his retirement was announced by the
International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots
The International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots or MM&P is a United States labor union representing licensed mariners.
MM&P represents licensed deck officers on U.S.- flag commercial vessels sailing offshore, on the inland waterways a ...
in October 2014.
Bibliography
*
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Richard
1955 births
American people of Irish descent
Living people
Massachusetts Maritime Academy alumni
Sea captains
People captured by pirates
American taxi drivers
People from Winchester, Massachusetts
Winchester High School (Massachusetts) alumni
Writers from Massachusetts