tagged w/ Maersk Alabama
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A crew member on a U.S.-flagged cargo ship captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia is suing his employers, claiming they sent him into pirate-infested waters without adequate protection, his attorney said Monday.
Richard Hicks of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, a crew member on the Maersk Alabama, filed suit Monday against Waterman Steamship Corp. and Maersk Line Limited, according to the attorney, Terry Bryant.
A spokeswoman for Mobile, Alabama-based Waterman Steamship Corp. said she did not know about the suit and did not immediately comment. A spokeswoman for Maersk Line Limited did not immediately return a call from CNN seeking comment.
The Maersk Alabama was hijacked by pirates April 8. Hicks, working as chief steward and preparing food for other crew members, heard over the loudspeaker that pirates were on board, and he and other crew members gathered in the ship's engine room for nearly 12 hours, according to a news release from Bryant.
"The engine room was dark and hot, maybe 130 degrees," Hicks said in the news release. "We were all cramping up with heat stroke symptoms when we were able to take a pirate hostage and tried to negotiate the return of our captain."
The pirates promised to exchange Capt. Richard Phillips for the pirate hostage, but reneged on that agreement, the news release.
Phillips offered himself as a hostage in exchange for the freedom of his crew. He was held on a lifeboat until U.S. Navy snipers on a nearby ship fatally shot three pirates, rescued Phillips and arrested a fourth pirate.
The ship's owners -- the two companies -- knowingly exposed their employees to danger and took no steps to provide appropriate security and safety for the crew, Bryant alleges.A crew member on a U.S.-flagged cargo ship captured by pirates off the coast of... more
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Kepano
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added this
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4 years ago
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A Somali teenager has arrived to face what are believed to be the first piracy charges in the United States in more than a century, smiling but saying nothing as he was led into a federal building under heavy guard.A Somali teenager has arrived to face what are believed to be the first piracy charges... more
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The captured Somali pirate who held a merchant ship captain hostage will be brought to New York to face trial, a U.S. official said Thursday.The captured Somali pirate who held a merchant ship captain hostage will be brought to... more
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A rainy morning outside the nation's capital couldn't dampen the spirits of the crew of the Maersk Alabama, who returned to the U.S. a week after their ordeal off the coast of Somalia.A rainy morning outside the nation's capital couldn't dampen the spirits of... more
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Navy SEAL snipers on the fantail of a destroyer cut down three Somali pirates in a lifeboat and rescued an American sea captain on Easter Sunday. The surprise nighttime assault in choppy seas ended a five-day standoff between a team of rogue gunmen and the world's most powerful military.Navy SEAL snipers on the fantail of a destroyer cut down three Somali pirates in a... more
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CBS's David Martin has learned that American ship captain Richard Phillips, who is being held by Somali pirates in a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean, attempted an escape but was not successful.CBS's David Martin has learned that American ship captain Richard Phillips, who... more
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The seizure of an American crew and cargo demonstrates the limits of U.S. military power in an international cops-and-robbers chase along a huge, lawless stretch of African coastline.The seizure of an American crew and cargo demonstrates the limits of U.S. military... more
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Breaking News: Wire reports are quoting the Pentagon, saying that the American crew has re-gained control of the hijacked ship, and over-powered the Somali pirates. (Arcticspirit adds OH YEAH!!!
Anyway back to what happened before we overtook the pirates that attempted to board a US run ship... Yeah... that was smart.)
A U.S. Department of Defense-contracted cargo flagship the Maersk Alabama was carrying humanitarian relief supplies and bound for Mombasa, Kenya when it was hijacked. The names of American hostages have not been released.
Where is our President and his spine-of-steel? These “pirates” live on shore and go to sea to go to work each day. The Somali coastline is about the length of our Eastern seaboard. We seemingly cannot catch the pirate ships at sea because they keep changing their flags. We need a multinational force to bomb the entire coastline. If they have no ships, these terrorists cannot set sail.
Reports are that pirates raked-in $80 million in ransom and cargo last year. Crews have died, been injured and surely terrorized. We need to bomb that coastline. How despicable is it that, in 2009, our shipping lines can be hijacked?
MSNBC is saying that “only eight ships had been hijacked in the busy Gulf of Aden” in the “first three months of 2009. That is how jaded we have become about terrorism and specifically about Muslim terrorism. Now we have another man-made disaster. Only eight ships in three months! We need to take-out every ship in their harbors without distinction. When non-pirate Somali’s lose their income, they’ll stop the pirating.
The same report says that the pirates “usually treat their hostages well…” No one should ever be held hostage, if something can be done about it, and we can do something about Somali pirates.
History about the ship:
Maersk Line, Limited is based in Norfolk, Virginia, and is one of the Department of Defense's primary shipping contractors. It has been a reliable partner for the government in peacetime and war for almost 30 years. The company operates vessels registered in the United States in full compliance with U.S. laws and regulations. It manages a fleet of nearly 50 ships in commercial and government service, including vessels requiring Top Secret security clearances. Maersk Line, Limited, a subsidiary of Denmark's A.P. Moller/Maersk A.S., is independently controlled by a board of directors comprised entirely of U.S. citizens.Breaking News: Wire reports are quoting the Pentagon, saying that the American crew... more
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