“We weren’t going to say anything, and then we hear this PR stuff coming out about him giving himself up, and he’s still hostage. “We vowed we were going to take it to our grave,” says the Maersk Alabama’s Chief Engineer Mike Perry. Maersk Alabama lifeboat where Captain Phillips was held hostageĭespite media reports to the contrary and poetic license in the 2013 film, Captain Phillips never offered his life for that of his crew. The pirates took the cash, but demanded much more. The pirates boarded the Maersk, despite the crew being able to sink the pirate’s boat by swinging the rudder and scuttling the smaller attack boat.Ĭaptain Phillips was taken hostage, and offered the pirates $30,000 in petty cash they had on board for their release. The crew fired flares and sprayed water hoses at the pirates. Hoping the pirates would be monitoring his communications, Captain Phillips faked a phone call to the US Navy disguising his voice to play the role of the Navy responder, stating “We’re on our way.” It worked, and 3 of the pirate vessels aborted their pursuit, but one remained. The Maersk was conducting a fire drill just before the pirates arrived, and Phillips curiously ordered the crew to continue with the drill, despite the pirates being less than 7 nautical miles out. As I told the crew, it would be a matter of when, not if… We were always in this area.” I didn’t believe 1,200 miles would make you safe. “I don’t believe 600 miles would make you safe. When asked why he decided not to take the ship farther offshore, Phillips testified, Phillips ignored the numerous warnings that urged him to go farther out to sea. One day later, the Maersk was on a voyage from Oman to Kenya when it was attacked by 4 Somali pirates only 240 nautical miles southeast of the Somali port city of Eyl. They asked him if he wanted beer, thinking that all Americans loved beer.Maersk Alabama Container Ship leaving Oman (Though Phillips says he just darted past him, rather than pretending to go to the bathroom himself.) After that, Phillips says the pirates beat him, started playing mind games with him (he was becoming paranoid), and performed mock executions. But the real hijackers might not have been quite so isolated: According to the Associated Press, officials said they were communicating with other pirate boats via satellite phone.Īs in the movie, things got much worse after Phillips tried to escape, while one of the pirates was urinating off the boat. (Phillips says he really did have to suggest that they remove their clips before using a gun to break the window.) Phillips also describes how the pirates “claimed they were former fishermen who’d been forced into banditry when their livelihoods disappeared,” just as they do in the movie. Over those five days, the extreme heat raised tensions, and the pirates broke the boat’s windows to let in some air. In the movie, Phillips says things like, “If you want to shoot someone, shoot me!” But Phillips says that he never meant to sacrifice himself for the crew. Though he was made a hero by ensuing media reports, Phillips doesn’t call himself a hero for these actions. But after Phillips went down to the lifeboat to help the pirates get it started, the hijackers kept Phillips and reneged on the deal. This shifted the balance of power, and the crew was eventually able to negotiate an exchange of Muse for Phillips. (According to the book, they all had sandals.)Īs in the movie, it was chief engineer Mike Perry that scuffled with Muse in the dark of the engine room and, after badly cutting Muse’s hand, used the knife to take him hostage. The book, for example, never describes a barefoot pirate stumbling on a field of broken glass, left by the crew as a booby trap. The crew’s efforts to take the ship back are also largely accurate, though some details seem to be invented. They really did offer the pirates the $30,000 from Phillips’ safe, but the hijackers wanted much more. He pretended he didn’t understand them, that the ship was “broken,” and he surreptitiously turned on his radio to sneak news to his crew. Business or not, Phillips tried to slow their progress any way he could.
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