Liberty Maritime Corporation President and CEO, Philip J. Shapiro, asked Congress to provide the U.S. legal framework to allow for ship owners to arm crews or contract armed private security teams when necessary. In the interim, Shapiro asked for government security teams or naval escorts of all U.S.-flag vessels on high risk transits. Liberty Maritime owns the M/V Liberty Sun, a cargo ship recently attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden while delivering U.S. government food aid to several African countries, including Somalia. “The Maersk Alabama incident constitutes a game changer,” Shapiro said in a hearing before the Senate Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Subcommittee.