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Oil Crewmen say hero captain caused attacks
December 03, 2009 Edition 2
MONTPELIER, Vermont: Richard Phillips, the ship captain toasted as a hero after he was taken captive by Somali pirates in April, ignored repeated warnings to keep his freighter at least 965km off the coast because of the heightened risk of attack, some of his crew say.
Records show that maritime safety groups issued at least seven warnings in the days before outlaws boarded the Maersk Alabama in the Gulf of Aden, about 610km offshore.
Four of the ship's crew, including the chief engineer, the helmsman and the navigator, said he was negligent not to change course.
"If you go to the grocery store and eight people get mugged on that street, wouldn't you go a different way?" said the ship's navigator, Ken Quinn.
Reached by telephone at his home in Underhill, Vermont, Phillips said he could not answer every "spurious accusation" and had expected such criticism.
"But I don't wish to say anything. I want you to report that I had no comment," he said.
One of the four crew members is part of a lawsuit filed against Maersk, alleging the company was negligent in sending the ship into treacherous waters without more protection.
The Alabama's crew was apparently unaware of the advisories during the attack and the five days Phillips was held hostage in a lifeboat by three pirates before Navy Seal snipers freed him by killing the men.
Crew members found the warnings in the ship's computer system when the Alabama returned to sea. - Sapa-AP
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