Maersk Alabama hijacking On April 6, 2009, the
U.S. Maritime Administration, following
NATO advisories, released a Somalia Gulf of Aden "advisory to mariners" recommending ships to stay at least off Somalia's coast of east Africa. With these advisories in effect, on April 8, 2009, four
Somali pirates boarded the
Maersk Alabama when it was located around southeast of the Somalian port city of
Eyl. With a crew of 20, the ship had departed from
Salalah, Oman, en route to
Mombasa, Kenya. The ship was carrying 17,000
metric tons of cargo, of which 5,000 metric tons were relief supplies bound for Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda. "In that area of the world, any blip on your radar is of concern," said Phillips, "I always told my crew it was a matter of when, not if." UAV. According to Chief Engineer Mike Perry, the crew sank the pirate speedboat shortly after the boarding by continuously swinging the rudder of the
Maersk Alabama, swamping the smaller boat. As the pirates were boarding the ship, the crew members locked themselves in the engine room. The crew later successfully lured one of the pirates,
Abduwali Muse, into the engine room and overpowered him, stabbing him in the hand in the process and keeping him tied up for some 12 hours. for Phillips. According to a crew member, the pirates got into the ship's rescue boat with the captive Phillips, but it would not start, so the crew dropped a lifeboat and met the pirates to trade prisoners and switch boats. On April 8, the destroyer and the frigate were dispatched to the
Gulf of Aden in response to the hostage situation, and reached
Maersk Alabama early on April 9. A standoff began between the
Bainbridge and the pirates in the
Maersk Alabama lifeboat, where they continued to hold Phillips hostage. Muse agreed to leave the lifeboat to negotiate with Navy officials on board the
Bainbridge, leaving his three fellow pirates on the lifeboat with Phillips.
Maersk Alabama then departed from the area with an armed escort, towards its original destination of the port of Mombasa. On Saturday, April 11,
Maersk Alabama arrived in Mombasa, still under U.S. military escort. Captain Larry Aasheim then assumed command. Aasheim had previously been captain of the
Maersk Alabama until Richard Phillips relieved him eight days prior to the pirate attack. An 18-man marine security team was on board. On Sunday, April 12,
Bainbridge captain Commander
Frank Castellano concluded that Phillips's life was in immediate danger, based on reports that a pirate was pointing an
AK-47 at his back. On Castellano's order, U.S. Navy marksmen from
DEVGRU, commonly known as
SEAL Team Six, deployed on
Bainbridge's
fantail, opened fire and killed the three pirates with bullets to the head. Phillips was rescued. One of the pirates was named Ali Aden Elmi, another's last name was Hamac, and the third remains unidentified. Muse was taken into custody aboard the
Bainbridge. He later
pleaded guilty to hijacking, kidnapping, and hostage-taking charges and was sentenced to over 33 years in federal prison. Phillips returned to sea fourteen months after the pirate attack, sailing as Master of the vehicle carrier M/V
Green Bay until his retirement was announced by the
International Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots in October 2014. == Aftermath ==