All rights reserved. Phillips' family had gathered at his farmhouse in Vermont awaiting a resolution to the situation. [10] The FBI then secured the ship as a crime scene. On April 12 one of the pirates effectively surrendered after requesting medical treatment onboard the Bainbridge; in 2011 a U.S. court sentenced him to 33 years in prison. [27] One of the pirates killed was Ali Aden Elmi, the last name of another was Hamac, and the third has not been identified in English-language press reports. 3300 N Highway A1a, Fort Pierce, FL 34949-8520. Phillips' family had gathered at his farmhouse in Vermont awaiting a resolution to the situation. [5] When the pirate alarm sounded, Chief Engineer Mike Perry brought 14 members of the crew into a secure room that the engineers had been in the process of fortifying for such a purpose. Navy. Gregg Sawka, left, takes a photograph of his daughter Ashlyn Smith-Sawka and her boyfriend Tommy Jersey, all from Fort Pierce, with one of the MV Maersk Alabama’s lifeboats at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum on Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce on Friday morning. The captors were also communicating with other pirate vessels by satellite phone. The American frigate did not return fire and "did not want to escalate the situation". The ship’s captain, Richard Phillips, prevented the initial takeover by ordering his crew to lock themselves in a secure room while he remained on the bridge. An 18-man security team was on board. Howard added that Richard Phillips, the rescued Maersk-Alabama captain, and John Reinhart, president and CEO of the Maersk Line, are expected to attend this year's Muster. The Maersk Alabama hijacking led to a series of maritime events that began on 8 April 2009, when four pirates in the Indian Ocean seized the cargo ship Maersk Alabama at a distance of 240 nautical miles (440 km; 280 mi) southeast of Eyl, Somalia. Captain Phillips was rescued uninjured. [4] All four of the pirates were between 17 and 19 years old, according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The crowd of about 200 who had gathered in the broiling sun to welcome the lifeboat roared with approval. [31], Muse's lawyers asked that he be tried as a juvenile, alleging that he was either 15 or 16 years old at the time of the hostage-taking, but the court ruled that Muse was not a juvenile and would be tried as an adult. The lifeboat had recently been on loan to National Geographic for its "Real Pirates" exhibition at the Nauticus marine science museum in Norfolk, Virginia.