On Sunday, August 2, Douglas B. Stevenson, Director of the Seamen’s Church Institute’s (SCI) Center for Seafarers’ Rights, embarked on an eight-day aboard the Maersk Idaho traveling from Cairo to Dubai through “Pirate Alley.”
The waters off the coast of Somalia drew media attention when, in April, a container ship owned by United States-based Maersk Line Limited was seized. The ship’s captain, Richard Phillips, was taken hostage by pirates and held at gunpoint for five days. The attack was one of 80 in the area since the beginning of 2009.
The Director of SCI’s Center for Seafarers’ Rights, the world’s only full-time, free legal aid program for merchant mariners, says that he hopes to draw attention to the professional seafarers themselves and their work, which is vital to the world’s prosperity.
To collect data and give exposure to his expedition, Stevenson will make careful observations and share many of them in real-time using Twitter. (To keep an eye on Stevenson’s journey, follow dbs5218, http://www.twitter.com/dbs5218)