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Richard Hicks, chief steward on the Maersk Alabama (AP Photo)Richard Hicks, chief steward on the Maersk Alabama, filed a lawsuit yesterday charging the Waterman Steamship Corporation and Maersk Line, Ltd with knowingly sending him into pirate-infested waters without adequate protection. Somali pirates off the coast of Africa hijacked the Maersk Alabama, an American-flagged cargo ship, earlier this month. The ship’s captain, Richard Phillips, was taken hostage and held in a lifeboat until Easter Sunday, when U.S. Navy SEAL snipers shot and killed three pirates holding him captive. A fourth kidnapper was arrested. When the pirates boarded the ship on April...

As one who was privileged and honored to train and hang out with the greatest warriors the world has ever known, it comes as no surprise that mighty U.S. Navy SEALS came through in the recent pirating of a U.S. Merchant Marine ship. The best of the best saved the kidnapped captain, killed three bad guys and captured a fourth. Those of us who cherish justice and good over evil salute the heroes of the American special ops and a commander in chief who gave the green light to do the right thing. God bless the warriors But if common...

EEKONK (WBZ) ―Captain Shane Murphy returned home from his life threatening ordeal with pirates off the Horn of Africa Thursday night. "I've been around this entire planet," he says. "I've been to every continent, hundreds of countries, and I mean this 100 percent: Boston is the best city in the world."SnipHe says he is concerned for the safety of the unarmed crews that are still out at sea. When asked if he'd be returning to his job, Murphy said he's not sure but is considering a new career fighting for better security on the ocean.

In Africa from Djibouti at the southern end of the Red Sea eastward through the Gulf of Aden to round Cape Guardafui at the easternmost tip of Africa (also known as "The Horn of Africa") is about a 600 nm transit before you stand out into the Indian Ocean. That transit is comparable in distance to that from the mouth of the Mississippi at New Orleans to the tip of Florida at Key West-- except that 600 nm over there is infested with Somalia pirates. Ships turning southward at the Horn of Africa transit the SLOC (Sea Lane of Commerce)...

WASHINGTON – While Barack Obama is basking in praise for his "decisive" handling of the Somali pirate attack on a merchant ship in the India Ocean, reliable military sources close to the scene are painting a much different picture of the incident – accusing the president of employing restrictive rules of engagement that actually hampered the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips and extended the drama at sea for days. Multiple opportunities to free the captain of the Maersk Alabama from three young pirates were missed, these sources say – all because a Navy SEAL team was not immediately ordered to...

SEAL team deployment stalled 36 hours, hampered by limited rules of engagement. WASHINGTON – While Barack Obama is basking in praise for his "decisive" handling of the Somali pirate attack on a merchant ship in the India Ocean, reliable military sources close to the scene are painting a much different picture of the incident – accusing the president of employing restrictive rules of engagement that actually hampered the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips and extended the drama at sea for days.

WASHINGTON – While Barack Obama is basking in praise for his "decisive" handling of the Somali pirate attack on a merchant ship in the India Ocean, reliable military sources close to the scene are painting a much different picture of the incident – accusing the president of employing restrictive rules of engagement that actually hampered the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips and extended the drama at sea for days. Multiple opportunities to free the captain of the Maersk Alabama from three young pirates were missed, these sources say – all because a Navy SEAL team was not immediately ordered to...

Senior Pentagon planners are debating a shift in military strategy to crack down on piracy off the coast of Somalia in the Gulf of Aden. Longstanding rules of engagement followed by the U.S. and other nations usually prohibit dramatic hostage rescues like the one that saved Richard Phillips, captain of the Maersk Alabama, unless military forces can overpower pirates with low risk to prisoners. SNIP Some Pentagon officials now want to formulate policy to encourage more daring commando raids, according to U.S. military officials. They say a mix of special operations forces and conventional Navy assets at sea would be...

And they are giving Mansourian President credit for the save. The question one must ask oneself is, who was Hussein secretly rooting for in this stand off? President Obama Restricted Navy SEALs From Rescuing Ship Captain With Force (hat tip Larwyn) Now this is interesting if true, and not surprising in the least. (h/t Ex-Liberal In Hollywood) Having spoken to some SEAL pals here in Virginia Beach yesterday and asking why this thing dragged out for 4 days, I got the following: 1. BHO wouldn’t authorize the DEVGRU/NSWC SEAL teams to the scene for 36 hours going against OSC (on...

Richard Phillips, who was freed from his ordeal with Somali pirates on Easter Sunday, landed in Burlington, Vt., late Friday afternoon on a small blue Maersk chartered jet. (SEE THE VIDEO)

Richard Phillips, captain of the US container ship the Maersk Alabama that was attacked by pirates off the Somali coast, has arrived back in the US. His home town of Underhill, Vermont, is preparing to give him a hero's welcome. After being reunited with his family, Capt Phillips thanked the military for rescuing him, saying there were the real heroes. During the attack, he offered himself as a prisoner to the pirates in return for them letting his crew go free. He was rescued after US snipers shot dead three of the pirates that were holding him captive on a...

Having spoken to some SEAL pals here in Virginia Beach yesterday and asking why this thing dragged out for 4 days, I got the following: 1. BHO wouldn't authorize the DEVGRU/NSWC SEAL teams to the scene for 36 hours going against OSC (on scene commander) recommendation. 2. Once they arrived, BHO imposed restrictions on their ROE that they couldn't do anything unless the hostage's life was in "imminent" danger 3. The first time the hostage jumped, the SEALS had the raggies all sighted in, but could not fire due to ROE restriction 4. When the navy RIB came under fire...

QUANTICO, Va., April 13, 2009 – The U.S. military’s rescue of a kidnapped American ship captain yesterday was “textbook,” but the issue of piracy is likely to worsen in the absence of a systemic solution, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today. Off the Somali coast yesterday, U.S. special operations snipers on the USS Bainbridge shot and killed three pirates who had held hostage the captain of the Maersk-Alabama cargo ship on a lifeboat for five days. Military officials said Capt. Richard Phillips’ life was in imminent danger at the time of his rescue. “It was textbook,” Gates said of...

April 13, 2009 - by Jeff Emanuel Page 1 of 2 Next ->Support Pajamas Media; Visit Our Advertisers After four days of floating at sea on a raft shared with four Somali gunmen, Richard Phillips took matters into his own hands for a second time. ... the captive captain of the M.V. Maersk-Alabama took his second leap in three days into the shark-infested waters of the Indian Ocean. This diversion gave the Navy Special Warfare operators all the opening they needed. Snipers immediately took down the three Somali pirates still on board the life raft, SEAL operators hustled down the...

A video clip of the Maersk Crew being interviewed at the dock in Kenya.

As details of the Maersk Alabama episode emerge, one clear lesson surfaces: The Spirit of United Flight 93 lives on. The ending of the hostage story at sea will soon be followed by the requisite second guessing and questions. Not to mention the inevitable criticism of the killing (someone will call it execution without due process) of three pirates. Then, if the fourth pirate is brought to the U.S. for trial, that promises to become a legal mini-series. But all of that will pale in importance in the face of what happened this Easter Sunday at sea.

US Navy snipers killed three Somali pirates who had been holding an American merchant skipper on a lifeboat last night, rescuing the hostage unharmed. The US Navy Seals opened fire from about 25 metres away under standing orders from President Obama when they saw one of the pirates pointing an AK47 at Captain Richard Phillips’s back, putting his life in imminent danger. All three pirates were killed. A fourth, who had come aboard a nearby US warship to negotiate, was taken into custody. He was reported to be as young as 16. Captain Phillips, a former Boston taxi driver who...

The captain of the Maersk Alabama was freed Sunday after being held captive since Wednesday by pirates off the coast of Somalia, a senior U.S. official with knowledge of the situation told CNN. The official said Capt. Richard Phillips is uninjured and in good condition, and that three of the four pirates were killed. The fourth pirate is in custody. Phillips was taken aboard the USS Bainbridge, a nearby naval warship. Earlier Sunday afternoon Maersk Line Limited, owner of the Maersk Alabama, said the U.S. Navy informed the company that it had sighted Phillips in a lifeboat where pirates are...

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Somalia Standoff Generates US Policy Debate Voice of America - ‎Apr 10, 2009‎US officials said the group, which controls parts of Somalia, poses a dilemma. They point to its rapid expansion, ties between its leaders and the al-Qaida ...http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-04-11-voa12.cfm   The Pirates Challenge Obama's Pre-9/11 Mentality Wall Street Journal - ‎Apr 10, 2009‎As the eminent military historian Sir Michael Howard argued shortly after 9/11, the status of al Qaeda terrorists is to be found in a distinction first made ...http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123940383654409651.html   Somali Pirates Tied to Jihad Intellectual Conservative - ‎Apr 8, 2009‎Since 2003, Somalia has witnessed the growth of a...