Maersk Alabama hijacking

Maersk Alabama hijacking
Part of Operation Ocean Shield[1]
Infrared aerial surveillance of Maersk Alabama on 9 April
Date 8–12 April 2009; 15 years ago (2009-04-12) Location 240 nmi (440 km; 280 mi) off Somalia Result All hostages rescued 3 pirates killed, 1 pirate captured
Belligerents
MV Maersk Alabama Supported by:  United States Navy	Somali pirates
Commanders and leaders
United States Navy Richard Phillips	Abduwali Muse
Strength
23 crew	4 hijackers
Casualties and losses
None	3 killed; 1 captured

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. The siege ended after a rescue effort by the United States Navy on April 12.^[2]

The incident was the first successful pirate seizure of a ship registered under the U.S. flag since the early 19th century. Many news reports cited the last pirate seizure as being during the Second Barbary War in 1815, although other incidents are believed to have occurred until at least 1822. It was the sixth vessel in a week to be attacked by pirates, who had previously extorted ransoms of tens of millions of dollars.^{[citation needed]}

At the time of the hijacking, Maersk Alabama was owned by the Danish shipping company Maersk Line. The ship has since been acquired by Element Shipmanagement SA and has been renamed MV Tygra. As of 2024^[update], the ship is still in active service.

The story of the incident was reported by Captain Richard Phillips, who had been master of the vessel at the time of the incident, in the 2010 book A Captain's Duty, which he co-wrote with Stephan Talty. The book was later adapted as the U.S. 2013 film Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks.