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The Maersk Alabama News

21 Sep 2022

“A Captain’s Duty” - Captain Phillips To Speak At Mass Maritime

Captain Richard Phillips, author of A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, will discuss his encounter, his remarkable rescue and lessons learned, in an Ed Fouhy Speaker Series program presented by the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center on October 6. Photo courtesy Mass Maritime

On Thursday October 6, Captain Richard Phillips, author of A Captain’s Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALs, and Dangerous Days at Sea, will discuss his encounter, his remarkable rescue and lessons learned, in an Ed Fouhy Speaker Series program presented by the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center. The program will begin at 7:00 PM at Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Admirals Hall, 101 Academy Drive, Buzzards Bay, MA.The now-famous hostage standoff began on Wednesday, April 8, 2009 when a small band of Somali pirates swung a ladder from their skiff onto the MV Maersk Alabama…

02 Jul 2018

DCA's Doyle: President Trump Supports Strong Infrastructure Projects

In an address to Western Dredging Association (WEDA) stakeholders, William P. Doyle, CEO & Executive Director Dredging Contractors of America told his audience: It all starts with dredging. Good Morning, and thank you for inviting me here today to open-up the conference. This is my first time addressing the Western Dredging Association (WEDA), and I am honored to be here. It all starts with dredging, and President Donald J. Trump is backing it up with critical legislative measures. As I will address later in my remarks– the U.S. dredging companies are truly American companies, spending billions of dollars building all of our ships in American shipyards and staffing our ships with American officers a crew.

10 May 2016

Taiwan Launches its Highest-Capacity Container Ships

State-backed shipbuilder CSBC Corporation, Taiwan has launched two domestically developed and constructed vessels in the southern Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung, reports Taiwan Today. YM Window and YM Width are 368 meters long, 51 meters wide and can carry 14,198, 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers. A 40-foot container—the most commonly used size—is around two TEUs. CSBC Chairman Lai Sun-quae said the vessels are a significant step up from the company’s last batch of 10 container ships produced from 2011 to 2015 that could carry around 8,000 TEUs. “Window and Width are quieter and more economical,” Lai said. The improved performance of the ships will help ensure they do not fall prey to pirates off the coast of Somalia as was the case with Maersk Alabama…

28 Aug 2018

Combatting Maritime Cyber Security Threats

Vulnerable to Hacking What should concern many in the maritime industry is that the main ship navigation systems including GPS, AIS and ECDIS receive data via radio frequency transmission at sea and as such are extremely  vulnerable to hacking.

The U.S. Executive Branch has declared that the cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation, and that America’s economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on effective cyber security. Before the maritime industry sounds the danger signal, it needs to monitor other industries and branches of the government and take proactive preventative measures. There is no better place to prepare future and current mariners for these challenges than in maritime simulators.

07 Oct 2014

Piracy Expected to Increase Ahead of Nigeria's Election

Piracy will increase in the Gulf of Guinea as Nigeria prepares for an election next February in order to funnel ransom money into campaign financing, intelligence experts told a shipping conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday. Risk Intelligence, which advises private shipping companies and governments on security, said two "mother ships" belonging to pirates are currently located just south of Nigeria and five seafarers are know to be held hostage onshore. "Ahead of general elections, kidnap-for-ransom and attacks on offshore targets increase," Managing Director Hans Tino Hansen told Reuters at a special session on maritime crime and the effects on growth and development in Africa.

04 Mar 2014

Avoiding Temptation at Sea

Photo courtesy Ambrey Risk

The recent deaths of two security operatives on board the Maersk Alabama highlighted an acute concern amongst the shipping community: the threat of substance abuse. That there were narcotics found in the same cabin as the individuals concerned is even more worrying, but nothing new. The area of particular concern though is the likely use of drugs and alcohol by embarked security personnel with access to weapons. Ambrey received a flurry of enquiries from clients following this incident, seeking reassurance about drug and alcohol policies for embarked teams.

20 Feb 2014

Two Found Dead on "Captain Philips" Ship

File Photo: Maersk Alabama

According to multiple published reports including Reuters, two U.S. security workers were found dead on the Maersk Alabama, a ship made famous by the Hollywood movie "Captain Phillips" in 2013. The two men apparently were found dead in a cabin on board the vessel in the afternoon of February 18 in Port of Victoria in the Seychelles. Both reportedly had beeen on board since 29 January. The Trident Group issued the following prepared statemwnt in the wake of the incident: "It is…

12 Feb 2014

Piracy Shifts to Western Africa

Photo: EnGarde

As international cooperation brings increasing pressure on more the traditional pirate trade in east Africa, there is mounting evidence that Western Africa, from Guinea-Bissau south to the Congo has become a new hotspot for the pirate trade. While the movie “Captain Phillips”, a story about Somali pirates hijacking the Captain of the container ship Maersk Alabama, played in theaters around the world, the International Chamber of Commerce, International Maritime Bureau, was quietly…

06 Feb 2014

Setting the Course Awards Banquet

Seafarers & International House will hold its 14th annual Setting the Course awards banquet the at the New York Athletic Club on Tuesday evening, April 22, 2014 to honor Donald J. Marcus, Edward R. Morgan and Captain Richard P. Phillips as the 2014 Outstanding Friends of Seafarers. •Don Marcus is the President of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, having served for many years as its Secretary-Treasurer. He is also the first president of the Maritime Labor Alliance (MLA), an organization formed by six unions to revitalize the U.S flag feet, to enhance cooperation within the maritime industry and to protect the jurisdictional rights of the maritime union members.

08 Oct 2013

InterManager Welcomes Hollywood Focus on Seafarers

Screenshot from Captain Phillips (Photo: CTMG)

As the new Hollywood blockbuster Captain Phillips premiers around the globe, InterManager has welcomed the focus the movie brings to the role of the seafarer. Captain Phillips, which stars Tom Hanks in the title role, retells the story of the kidnapping by Somali pirates of the US-flagged containership Maersk Alabama. InterManager, the international trade association which represents the world’s ship and crew managers, says the movie’s worldwide appeal will raise the profile of seafaring and help broaden understanding of what a life at sea is like.

07 Oct 2013

Capt. Phillips to Speak at National Press Club

Capt. Phillips & Cmdr. Frank Castellano: Photo credit USN

Capt. Richard Phillips, who was taken hostage by Somali pirates in 2009 and whose story is the subject of a new film starring Tom Hanks, will be joined at the National Press Club 10, October 2013, by Capt. Steven Werse, Secretary-Treasurer of the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots. Captain Richard Phillips, who survived a harrowing ordeal at sea in 2009 when his ship the Maersk Alabama was boarded by Somali pirates and whose story is the subject of a new feature film, Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks being released Oct.

10 Apr 2013

Yes, Oceanographers Can Help Predict Piracy Attacks

The US Naval Meteorology & Oceanography Command named a 2013 Computerworld Honors Laureate for its counter-piracy predictive modelling. The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NAVMETOCCOM) received the award for a modeling capability developed by Naval oceanographers at Stennis Space Center that predicts the likelihood of pirate attacks. IDG's Computerworld Honors Program selected NAVMETOCCOM as a 2013 Laureate in the field of Safety and Security for its development of its Pirate Attack Risk Surface (PARS). The PARS model produces a forecast of shipping vulnerability due to piracy at a certain latitude, longitude, and time. A few short months before Somali pirates hijacked the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama in 2009…

24 Oct 2012

USS Bainbridge Captain Tells His Sea Story

Castellano & Phillips: Photo credit USN

Navy Capt. Frank Castellano shares his 'Alabama Maersk' rescue experience with Naval Postgraduate School students and faculty. Capt. Frank Castellano,a renowned Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) alumnus and former 'USS Bainbridge' (DDG-96) commander addressed students and faculty at NPS' King Auditorium recently. USS Bainbridge first caught the public's attention after it led the dramatic rescue operation that freed Maersk Alabama Captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates in 2009. This is a 'sea story,' my sea story," said Castellano in beginning his recount of the dramatic events.

17 Sep 2012

US Merchant Ship With Anti-piracy Weaponry on Board Released

Nexus Consulting, says an 'administrative mistake' led to the Venezuala detention of a US-flagged ship. Background: Venezuelan authorites arrested a U.S. ship captain early Thursday after three assault rifles were found on board. Nexus Consulting is proud to announce that all charges against the master and crew of the US-Flagged vessel detained in Venezuela have been dropped. The vessel is finally on its way home, with all crew, cargo and anti-piracy weaponry having been returned by the Venezuelan government as of 1800 Sept 14th. Nexus would like to thank the maritime unions SIU and AMO as well as Congressman Delahunt of Massachusetts and the owners and operators for their support during this ordeal.

28 May 2012

'Maersk Alabama' Crew File for Financial Compensation

The five-day saga off the coast of Somalia ended when Navy SEALs killed three of  the ship's masters' captors in a volley of rifle fire and a fourth pirate had previously surrendered to the Navy. Though the master of Maersk Alabama, Captain Richard Phillips, was hailed as a hero, 11 former crew members allege in lawsuits filed in Norfolk Circuit Court and in Mobile, Ala., that his employers, through Phillips' actions, put them in grave danger when the ship sailed within about 250 miles of the Somalian coast despite warnings to stay at least 600 miles out because of pirate activity, according to 'The Virginia Pilot'. Together…

30 Mar 2012

Piracy Off the Horn of Africa

Remarks by Andrew J. Shapiro, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, given to the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC (March 27, 2012). Thank you for inviting me here today. I want to thank the Center for American Progress [CAP] for having me here to speak on the important subject of piracy off the Horn of Africa. CAP is a tremendous leader in developing new ideas and in approaching issues in new ways. I come here before you today to talk about an issue that the Obama administration has also had to approach in new and innovative ways. Despite the romantic notions surrounding piracy of previous centuries, modern day piracy represents a new and complex threat to the international community.

09 Mar 2011

Juliet Marine Systems, Inc. Announces Anti-piracy Sea-based Security Platform, GHOST

Juliet Marine Systems, Inc. announced today that they have developed and built a revolutionary marine platform called GHOST specifically designed to deal with international problems of piracy. International piracy has been consistently growing. In Somalia alone, pirates today hold 33 hijacked ships and 711 hostages, according to ICC IMB figures. Piracy is growing at about 10% per year and the heaviest activity is centered in Somalia. Juliet Marine's President and CEO Gregory Sancoff stated, "The piracy problem is not going away, the pirates are becoming more sophisticated.

03 Feb 2011

Maersk Pirate Deserves 27-Years According to His Lawyers

According to a report from Bloomberg, Abduwali Muse, a Somali pirate who pleaded guilty to hijacking the container ship Maersk Alabama, should get 27 years in prison when he is sentenced this month, his lawyers said, citing his youth and poverty. Muse admitted in May to two counts of hijacking maritime vessels, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of hostage taking. He faces 27 years to 33 years and nine months in prison under a range agreed to by his lawyers and the U.S. (Source: Bloomberg)

20 Apr 2010

Arming Vessels to Combat Piracy

A top Navy commander suggested that commercial vessels should arm themselves when traveling through pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast. Navy Adm. Mark P. Fitzgerald, commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe and Africa and of NATO’s Allied Joint Task Force Command Naples, told Pentagon reporters that the scope of the piracy problem is too great to be policed by military vessels alone. On an average day, 30 to 40 ships comprising international maritime forces monitor pirate activity in the Somali basin and the western Indian Ocean, Fitzgerald said, adding that five to 10 of these ships at any given time are American vessels. Another issue, the admiral said, is what to do with pirates who are captured.

30 Mar 2010

MARAD Warns of Increased Piracy

The Maritime Administration issued advisories to U.S. ships in the waters off the Horn of Africa and in the Indian Ocean. The warnings advise that pirate activity could increase between now and May, due to the end of the Northeast monsoon season and increased range of recent pirate attacks. “These warnings must be taken seriously, as pirates continue to put our ships and crews at risk, even one year after the Maersk Alabama incident,” said David T. Matsuda, Acting Maritime Administrator. The Maritime Administration advisories provide guidance and information to the U.S. maritime industry on the risk of operating ships in the affected areas.

19 Nov 2009

Reminder of Best Practices Following Pirate Attacks

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reminded mariners about the importance of taking necessary precautions and implementing best practices in the wake of recent attacks on the M/V Harriett and Maersk Alabama off the coast of Somalia. “These ships’ successful defense against pirates should serve as a reminder to the maritime industry of the best practices that can keep crews safe on the seas,” said Secretary LaHood. “Mariners should heed the lessons learned from past attacks and review defensive measures so that they are prepared when traveling through high-threat areas. The U.S. government will continue to work with ship operators to protect U.S. Last week, the M/V Harriett thwarted a pirate attack by outrunning the pirate ship.

18 Nov 2009

Maersk Alabama Crew Repels Suspected Pirate Attack

MANAMA, Bahrain, Nov. 18, 2009 - The U.S.-flagged Maersk Alabama's security team repelled an attack from suspected pirates this morning 560 nautical miles off the northeastern coast of Somalia, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command officials reported. Four suspected pirates in a skiff came within 300 yards of the Maersk Alabama and used small-arms weapons in an attempt to board the ship.The ship's security team responded with evasive maneuvers, long-range acoustic devices and small-arms fire, causing the suspected pirates to break off their attack. The acoustic devices emit a high-pitched sound that can be painful to human ears. "Due to Maersk Alabama following maritime industry's best [anti-piracy] practices such as embarking security teams…

17 Nov 2009

Kurz, Widdows, USCG 2009 AOTOS Recipients

Photo caption (from left to right): Ronald Widdows, Group President and CEO of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) of Singapore, parent company of American President Lines (APL); Admiral Thad W. Allen, Commandant, United States Coast Guard; Donald Kurz, President and CEO of Keystone Shipping Company

The United Seamen’s Service (USS) 2009 40th Annual Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards (AOTOS) were presented to Donald Kurz, President and CEO of Keystone Shipping Co., headquartered in Philadelphia, and to Ronald Widdows, Group President and CEO of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) of Singapore, parent company of American President Lines (APL). A Special AOTOS Award was also presented to The United States Coast Guard. The maritime industry’s most prestigious honors were awarded at a gala industry dinner and dance held at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, New York City, on November 13, 2009.