Richard Phillips

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Richard Phillips (born May 16, 1955) is an American merchant marine and author who served as captain of the MV Maersk Alabama before it was hijacked by Somali pirates in April 2009.

Early life and education

Phillips, who is of Irish descent, was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Winchester High School in 1973. Phillips enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Amherst intending to study international law, but he transferred to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, where he graduated in 1979. Phillips was a taxi driver in Boston while his education.

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Career

Following NATO advisories, the US Maritime Administration issued a Somalia Gulf of Aden "advisory to mariners" advising ships to remain at least 600 nautical miles (1,100 km; 690 mi) off Somalia's coast of east Africa on April 6, 2009. Four Somali pirates boarded the Maersk Alabama, about 240 nmi (440 km) southeast of the Somali port city of Eyl, as these warnings went into place. The ship had left Salalah, Oman, en route to Mombasa, Kenya, with a crew of 20 people. The ship was carrying 17,000 metric tons of cargo, of which 5,000 metric tons were relief supplies headed for Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda. "Any blip on your radar in that region of the world is troubling," Phillips said, "I always told my crew it was a matter of when, not if."

The crew sank the pirate speedboat immediately after the boarding by stumbling the Maersk Alabama's rudder, engulfing the smaller boat, according to Chief Engineer Mike Perry. The crew members locked themselves in the engine room as the pirates were boarding the ship. One of the pirates was defeated later by the crew. For Phillips, the crew attempted to rescue the incarcerated pirate, who had been held captive for ten hours. According to a crew member, Phillips and the pirates climbed into the ship's rescue boat, but the crew decided that it would not start until the pirates stopped a lifeboat and met the pirates to swap prisoners and boats. The rescued pirate was released, but the pirates were left in the lifeboat with Phillips before the crew could take action. The lifeboat was carrying ten days of food rations, water, and basic survival equipment.

On April 8, the destroyer USS Bainbridge and the frigate USS Halyburton were sent to the Gulf of Aden in response to the hostage crisis, and they reached Maersk Alabama early on April 9. Maersk Alabama moved from the area with a soldier on board to its original destination, the port of Mombasa. Maersk Alabama arrived in Mombasa on Saturday, April 11, under US military occupation. Captain Larry Aasheim assumed responsibility shortly after. Aasheim had been captain of the Maersk Alabama until Richard Phillips was fired eight days before the pirate attack. An 18-man marine security team was on board. The ship was secured as a crime scene by the Federal Bureau of Investigations in the United States.

In the Maersk Alabama lifeboat, where they continued to hold Phillips hostage, a standoff began between the Bainbridge and the pirates on April 9. On Sunday, three days later, US Navy marksmen from DEVGRU (commonly known as SEAL Team Six) opened fire and killed the three pirates on the lifeboat, and Phillips was saved. Following news that a pirate was pointing an AK-47 automatic rifle at his back, Bainbridge captain Frank Castellano ordered that the man's life was in jeopardy right away. On Bainbridge's fantail, navy SEAL snipers opened fire, killing the three pirates with bullets to the head; one of the pirates was named Ali Aden Elmi, another's last name, and the third remains unidentified; When being treated for an injury in Maersk Alabama's takeover of Maersk Alabama, a fourth pirate, Abduwali Muse, was boarded aboard the Bainbridge and speaking with military negotiators, but was arrested and arrested. He pleaded guilty to hijacking, kidnapping, and hostage-taking charges and was sentenced to more than 33 years in federal prison.

Following the hijacking, Phillips released A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea. In spring 2010, Columbia Pictures optioned the book and bought the film rights. In March 2011, it was announced that Tom Hanks would appear as Phillips, Barkhad Abdi, and Faysal Ahmed as Najee in a Sony Pictures film based on the hijacking and Phillips' book, scripted by Billy Ray and produced by The Social Network team.

Captain Phillips, the film, was released on October 11, 2013 and had its premiere at the 2013 New York Film Festival.

In an interview with New York Daily News, Phillips talks about his service to his crew, his sense of accomplishment as a captain, and his eagerness to return to sea. "My crew was now safe because the pirates lost their ladder and boat when they boarded the Maersk Alabama, so they could not get back onboard," Phillips says. "It was really a relief" for me because my crew and ship were safe." "I never lost hope for myself," Phillips said, "but I didn't expect a good ending from it." "I told him [Tom Hanks] that if he's going to play me, he'll have to lose a little weight and get a little better looking, but he didn't," Phillips said in his interview.

There has been controversies surrounding Captain Phillips' portrayal of Phillips, with several crew members claiming that he was not the hero in the film, according to lawsuits filed by more than half of the crew of the Maersk Alabama. Phillips is at least partially responsible for his "insistence on being fast and making money," the crew members claim. "Getting] the Alabama within 250 miles of the Somali coast, they say.

Phillips told CNN's Drew Griffin in 2010 and in a court deposition in 2013, he denied the numerous warnings that urged him to go farther out to sea, which led him to his deposition. Phillips testified when asked why he decided not to go farther offshore in 2013, he replied, "I don't think 600 miles would make you safe." I didn't know that 1,200 miles would keep you safe. It'll be a matter of when, not if... We were always in this area, as I told the crew.

Phillips returned to sea fourteen months after the pirate attack, sailing as Master of the M/V Green Bay ship carrier until the International Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots announced their resignation in October 2014.

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