Maersk Alabama news stories on Newser

Somali Pirate Gets 33 Years in Prison

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:21:25 CST

A Somali pirate who kidnapped and brutalized the captain of a US-flagged merchant ship off the coast of Africa in 2009 was sentenced to more than 33 years in prison today by an emotional judge who told him he deserved a stiff punishment for leading a crew of bandits who...

Decade's Happiest Endings

Nick McMaster — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:59:39 CST

This decade has had its fair share of tragedy, but Newsweek collects some of its best happy endings: The Red Sox in 2004. Many New Englanders lived their entire lives without seeing a Sox championship, making it that much sweeter in '04. Sully and the Hudson: The calm-under-fire performance of...

Maersk Alabama Repels 2nd Pirate Attack

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:30:23 CST

Somali pirates today attacked the Maersk Alabama for the second time in seven months, but guards on board the US-flagged cargo ship repelled the takeover attempt. When pirates attacked with automatic weapons early this morning about 350 nautical miles east of the Somali coast, guards on board the craft fired...

Navy Probes SEALs Over Missing Pirate Money

Harry Kimball — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:43:39 CDT

The Navy is questioning the crew of the Maersk Alabama and members of its own SEAL unit about $30,000 that went missing from the hijacked cargo ship, the New York Post reports. The money was taken by the pirates during the hijacking attempt but was not recovered after they...

Maersk Captain Calls for Military to Protect Shipping

Rob Quinn — Fri, 01 May 2009 02:27:57 CDT

Military guards or military detachments on board ships are the best way to keep American shipping safe from piracy, Capt. Richard Phillips told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday. Phillips, freed by the US Navy after being held hostage by pirates last month, said better-armed crews and tougher vessels would...

Pirated Ship's Cook Sues Over Safety Regs

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:53:02 CDT

A member of the crew on the US-flagged ship hijacked by African pirates sued the owner and another company today, accusing them of knowingly putting sailors in danger. Richard E. Hicks alleges in the suit that owner Maersk Line Limited and Waterman Steamship Corp., which provided the crew, ignored requests...

Maersk's First Mate Rips Limbaugh for Race-Baiting

Rob Quinn — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 07:37:10 CDT

The second-in-command who helped thwart a pirate attack on the Maersk Alabama has laid into Rush Limbaugh for playing up the drama's racial aspect. Shane Murphy says Limbaugh, who sneered that a Republican president would have been in hot water for ordering the shooting of "black teenagers on the high...

Teen Pirate Will Be Tried as Adult; Faces Life in Prison

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:07:47 CDT

The sole surviving pirate from an attack on an American cargo ship off the Somali coast will be tried as an adult after he was portrayed today as the brazen ringleader of a band of pirates who shot at the ship's captain and bragged about prior acts of piracy. The...

'I'm Not a Hero': Rescued Captain

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:31:11 CDT

Shipping captain Richard Phillips is back in his home state, a week and a half after being taken hostage by pirates. The plane carrying Phillips, who was rescued by Navy SEAL snipers, landed in Burlington, Vt., late this afternoon. "I'm not a hero," Phillips, from nearby Underhill, said on the...