Pirates again attack Maersk Alabama
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By JASON STRAZIUSO The Associated Press - Published: November 19, 2009
NAIROBI, Kenya — Guards aboard the Maersk Alabama used guns and a sound blaster Wednesday to repel the second pirate attack in seven months on the U.S. vessel at a time when ships are increasingly hiring armed security teams to thwart hijackings.
Despite an increased international flotilla of warships off the Horn of Africa, maritime figures indicate the number of ship boardings has remained about the same in the past year.
A U.S. naval commander hailed the ship's new defenses and family members rejoiced at the Maersk Alabama's escape this time around, but the handling of the attack highlights a growing schism over use of arms on commercial vessels.
The former captain of the Maersk Alabama, Richard Phillips of Underhill, says he has nothing to say about the second pirate attack in seven months on his former ship.
Phillips was held by pirates for several days in April before being rescued when U.S. Navy sharpshooters killed three of the pirates and arrested a fourth.
Now back home in Underhill, he said recently he is contemplating retiring from his job as a ship captain.
On Wednesday, Phillips declined comment about the latest incident. He says, "I'm not involved in it this time, so I don't want to speculate on things I don't know."
With young and impoverished Somalis increasingly seeking out multimillion-dollar paydays from successful hijackings, ship owners are turning to new tactics, including armed security.
"Somali pirates understand one thing and only one thing, and that's force," said Capt. Joseph Murphy, a professor at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and the father of a sailor aboard the Maersk Alabama the first time it was hijacked in April.
Then, pirates took ship captain Richard Phillips hostage, holding him at gunpoint in a lifeboat for five days. U.S. Navy SEAL sharpshooters freed Phillips while killing three pirates.
This time, the ship used its own private security guards to save itself.
Maritime experts said it is not unusual for ships to be attacked by pirates more than once, particularly those that regularly travel through trouble spots.
Pirate attacks have spiked around the globe this year, according to a report released this week.
The number of attacks worldwide rose to 306 between January and September, surpassing the 293 incidents recorded throughout 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur. Somali pirate activity off the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, accounted for at least 135 of the cases. There were 44 pirate boardings and hijackings by Somali pirates in 2008 and 42 so far this year, according to the bureau.
Somali pirates hold 11 ships and 254 crew, a U.N. diplomat said. Attacks have increased in recent weeks as the monsoon season subsided, and pirates in that area are expanding their reach well into the Indian Ocean.
On Wednesday, a self-proclaimed pirate said the captain of a chemical tanker hijacked Monday had died of wounds suffered during the ship's hijacking. The pirate, Sa'id, who gave only one name for fear of reprisals, said the captain died Tuesday night from internal bleeding. The chemical tanker Theresa was taken Monday with 28 North Korean crew, the EU naval force said.
Poverty and hunger are driving the number of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean around Somalia, which has not had a central government since 1991 and is bloodied by war since then.
A member of a Spanish fishing trawler who was freed from pirate captivity with his crew on Tuesday after a $3.3 million ransom was paid, said his captors were emaciated men ranging in age from 20 to 40.
"The Kalashnikovs were so heavy they bent the men over backward," Iker Galbarriatu told the Madrid newspaper El Pais, referring to their assault rifles. "They would not have been able to shoot without falling down."
The United States is calling for intensified efforts to combat piracy and warning against paying ransom.
The EU this week approved an extension to the union's naval operations in the area. Speaking to the EU parliament, force commander British Rear Adm. Peter Hudson said that no ships operating under EU escort had been hijacked by the pirates.
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