EXREYCaptain Phillips: The True Story of the Maersk Alabama Hijacking
Yes. Captain Phillips (2013, directed by Paul Greengrass, starring Tom Hanks) is based on the hijacking of the US cargo ship Maersk Alabama by four Somali pirates in April 2009. Captain Richard Phillips was taken hostage in the ship's lifeboat for several days until US Navy SEAL snipers killed three of the pirates on 12 April 2009. Some crew members later disputed the film's heroic picture of Phillips.
Captain Phillips plays like a thriller, but it is close to a reconstruction. Paul Greengrass, who also made United 93, filmed on real ships at sea and cast four first-time actors from the Somali community in Minneapolis as the pirates. The events follow the 2009 hijacking day by day.
What happened on the Maersk Alabama
On 8 April 2009 the Maersk Alabama, a container ship carrying food aid among its cargo, was attacked by four armed men in a small skiff in the Indian Ocean, a few hundred miles off the coast of Somalia. The crew had trained for this; most of them hid in the engine room while the pirates took the bridge.
The standoff went badly for the pirates. The crew captured their leader, Abduwali Muse, and tried to trade him for the captain. In the end the pirates left the ship in its enclosed lifeboat - taking Captain Richard Phillips with them as a hostage.
Four days in the lifeboat
The US Navy sent the destroyer USS Bainbridge, later joined by other ships. Negotiations went on for days while the lifeboat drifted towards the Somali coast. Phillips tried to escape once by jumping into the sea and was recaptured.
On 12 April 2009, with Muse on board the Bainbridge to negotiate and the lifeboat under tow, Navy SEAL snipers saw an opportunity and shot the three pirates still in the boat at the same moment. Phillips was freed unhurt. Muse was flown to New York, pleaded guilty to hijacking and kidnapping, and in 2011 was sentenced to 33 years and nine months in prison.
The film's final scene - Phillips in shock being examined by a Navy medic - was improvised; the medic is played by a real Navy corpsman.
What the crew say
The film presents Phillips as a calm hero. Several members of his crew have said that picture is incomplete: they say he ignored warnings to keep further from the Somali coast, where pirate attacks were frequent, and some joined a lawsuit against the ship's operators over safety. Phillips has said he followed his company's guidance and that a captain cannot avoid every risk. Both accounts are part of the true story, and the film tells only one of them.
Why it stays with you
The film refuses to make the pirates cartoon villains. Muse, played by Barkhad Abdi in an Oscar-nominated debut, is young, desperate and working for men on shore he fears more than the US Navy. "Maybe in America," he says when Phillips tells him there must be something other than fishing and kidnapping. That line is why the story is still worth watching: it is about two men trapped by systems much bigger than either of them.
Questions people ask
Is Captain Phillips based on a true story?
Yes, on the April 2009 hijacking of the Maersk Alabama and Richard Phillips' book A Captain's Duty (2010).
What happened to the pirates in Captain Phillips?
Three were shot dead by US Navy SEAL snipers on 12 April 2009. The fourth, Abduwali Muse, was taken to the United States, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2011 to more than 33 years in prison.
Do the crew agree with the film?
Not all of them. Several crew members said Phillips ignored warnings and sailed too close to the Somali coast; some sued the shipping companies. Phillips has defended his decisions.
Was Barkhad Abdi nominated for an Oscar?
Yes. Barkhad Abdi, who played the pirate leader Muse in his first film role, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
