United States Navy 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2017 The Maersk Alabama hijacking began on 8 April 2009, when four pirates in the Somali Basin seized the Danish/U.S.

cargo ship Maersk Alabama at a distance of 240 nautical miles (440 km; 280 mi) southeast of Eyl, Somalia.

It was the sixth vessel in a week to be attacked by pirates, who had previously extorted ransoms of tens of millions of dollars.

In addition, Perry and First Assistant Engineer Matt Fisher swung the ship's rudder, which swamped the pirate skiff.

The pirates captured Captain Richard Phillips and several other crew members minutes after boarding, but found that they could not control the ship.

Perry, armed with a knife, remained outside the secure room lying in wait for the pirates who were trying to locate the missing crew members in order to gain control of the ship and presumably sail it to Somalia.

[14][15] Maersk Alabama was then escorted from the scene to its original destination of Mombasa where Captain Larry D. Aasheim took command of the ship.

[17][18] A stand-off began on 9 April between Bainbridge, Halyburton, and the pirates on the lifeboat from Maersk Alabama with Phillips held hostage.

The lifeboat was covered and contained plenty of food and water but lacked basic comforts, including a toilet or ventilation.

[20]) The pirates then threw a phone and a two-way radio dropped to them by the U.S. Navy into the ocean, fearing the Americans were somehow using the equipment to give instructions to Phillips.

The pirates' strategy was to link up with their comrades, who were holding various other hostages, and to get Phillips to Somalia where they could hide him and make a rescue more difficult for the Americans.

No crew members of Halyburton were injured from the gunfire, as the shots were fired haphazardly by a pirate from the front hatch of the lifeboat.

The NCIS and the FBI investigated two members of the SEAL team's Red Squadron, but no charges were brought and the money was not recovered.

[34] Two former Navy SEALs have claimed participation in the rescue: Matt Bissonnette (using the nom de plume Mark Owen) and Robert J. O'Neill.

[citation needed] Muse, the surviving pirate, was held in USS Boxer's afloat brig and was eventually flown to the United States to stand trial.

[42] On April 6, 2010, A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea, was released.

[55] The owners of Maersk Alabama donated the bullet-marked 5-ton fiberglass lifeboat upon which the pirates held Captain Phillips hostage to the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida, in August 2009.

[56][57] The lifeboat had recently been on loan to National Geographic for its "Real Pirates" exhibition at the Nauticus marine science museum in Norfolk, Virginia.