Tom Hanks’ 2013 movie Captain Phillips was based on a true story, and it was surprisingly accurate about what actually happened during the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama. Captain Phillips Depicted the true story of the 2009 hijacking of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates. Hanks played the title Richard Phillips, and Captain Phillips Even included one of Hanks’ best scenes ever. Captain Philips is a very good movie, but it owes much of its acclaim to the true story behind it.
Captain Phillips is one of the most intense thrillers based on true stories, and much of the intensity comes from the true story. In April 2009, the Maersk Alabama was hijacked by Somali pirates. Although they left the ship on the same day, they took Phillips hostage in a small lifeboat for five days. From abuse at the hands of his captors to the cramped and hot conditions of the lifeboat, Richard Phillips had a terrible experience. Captain Phillips was able to convey the harrowing nature of the true story very accurately, but it didn’t get all the factual details just right.
Related
Somali pirates hijacked Captain Richard Phillips’ cargo ship in 2009
The hijacking of the Maersk Alabama really happened
In April 2009, Captain Phillips and the Maersk Alabama was carrying emergency food supplies from Salalah, Oman to Mombasa, Kenya (via The Gainesville Sun). The route took the ship around the Horn of Africa, off the coast of Somalia, where a group of pirates found the ship on their radar. Somalia experienced a resurgence in piracy in the 2000s for a variety of reasons. A pirate expert analyzed Captain Phillips And said that the piracy started as a way to protect Somali fishing waters. The instability of the region, the profitability of piracy and a lack of policing made piracy very lucrative, although (through History).
The increasing danger of Somali pirates is well-known when the Maersk Alabama was making his trip to Kenya. The United States Navy even issued seven warnings to Captain Phillips by email advising him to take his ship 600 miles off the coast (via CNN). Phillips ignored the warnings and kept the Maersk Alabama About 240 miles off the coast (by history). His crew members criticized Phillips for not heeding the warning, but Phillips defended his decision by saying that he believed that no amount of distance would protect them from pirate attacks (via CNN).
like Captain Phillips Depicted, the Maersk Alabama Was originally attacked by several pirate skiffs on April 7, but they turned back before reaching the ship. The next day, April 8, one of the skiffs, commanded by four Somali pirates, attacked the ship again.. Again, the movie accurately depicted that the pirates’ ship was flooded and lost, although in real life it was done by the Maersk AlabamaIt’s the paddle, not the hoses. Despite losing their skiff, the four pirates were able to board, and April 8, 2009, was the first time pirates boarded a US ship. it. Ship in almost 200 years (by Encyclopedia Britannica).
What happened to the crew aboard the Maersk Alabama cargo ship
The pirates allowed most hostages to go free
The majority of the crew of the Maersk Alabama was safe when the pirates boarded. They retreated to the engine room, which was fortified and defensible (via Encyclopedia Britannica). Crew members, including Captain Phillips, who were stationed on the bridge, however, were unable to reach safety, and were captured by the pirates. The pirates then sent one of the crew down to bring the rest of the crew to the bridge, but he did not do so. One of the pirates, Abduwali Muse, then brought another crew member to the engine room, but how Captain Phillips Shown, Muse is ambushed and captured by the crew.
None of the crew members of the Maersk AlabamaExcept Captain Phillips, were injured while the pirates had control of the ship, but they managed to cut Muse on the hand. The crew members in the engine room then tried to use the captured pirate to secure the safety of the other crew members on the bridge. During the exchange, however, the crew let Muse go, but the pirates refused to release Captain Phillips. They then cut these Maersk Alabamas power and took Phillips hostage as they escaped in a lifeboat.
Why the Somali Pirates took Captain Phillips hostage on the lifeboat
They planned to ransom the captain of the Maersk Alabama
After the four pirates boarded the Maersk AlabamaThey quickly realized that they would not be able to control it. They tried to force the crew to pilot the ship at gunpoint, but after Muse was captured and his gun was taken, that was no longer an option. With their own skiff destroyed and no chance of taking it Maersk Alabama Gone, the pirates still wanted to make some profit from the situation, and recover the price of their sunken skiff, so they planned to ransom Phillips for $2 million (via BBC).
Besides the ransom they sought, the Somali pirates had several reasons for taking Captain Phillips hostage. As the movie depicted, Phillips was used as a human shield to prevent the US from attacking him. Since the lifeboat ran out of fuel quickly after departing the Maersk AlabamaThe pirates aim to be rescued by other Somali pirates in the area. The pirates had captured other ships, and they may have planned to use their hostages as additional human shields.
How Captain Phillips and the Maersk Alabama crew were rescued
The US
After the pirates left, the Maersk AlabamaThe crew restored the ship’s power and began following the lifeboat as they waited for assistance from the U.S. Navy. Eventually, on April 9, the USS Bainbridge Arrived to handle the hostage crisis on the relief boat. The Maersk Alabama was eventually told to continue on their route to Kenya with armed soldiers providing protection (via Encyclopedia Britannica). After returning to the US US, 11 of the Maersk AlabamaThe 20 crew members praised the ship’s owners and operators for $50 million for sending them into pirate-infested waters (via The Guardian). The lawsuit was settled out of court.
As for Captain Phillips, the events of the movie showed his rescue very accurately. like Captain Phillips Shown, Phillips made a failed escape attempt, and although Muse was captured, Phillips was also recaptured. After being held captive for a total of five days, the Navy SEALs opened fire on the three pirates remaining in the lifeboat after they pointed a gun at Phillips, killing them all. (via Encyclopedia Britannica). As the end of Captain Phillips Phillips was then given medical attention for seasickness, abrasions on his wrists, and other injuries from the pirates’ abuse, but he was not harmed by the seals.
What happened to the Somali pirates who carried out the hijacking
Three of the four pirates were killed
Three of the four Somali pirates who hijacked the Maersk Alabama were killed by SEAL Team Six during the operation to rescue Captain Phillips. The fourth pirate, Abduwali Muse, was captured earlier when Phillips attempted to jump out of the lifeboat. Muse was extradited to the United States, where he was put on trial. Musa pleaded guilty to six counts of piracy under international law, and a New York court sentenced him to nearly 34 years in prison, nearly the maximum sentencing. (via ABC News). Muse asked for forgiveness from Phillips and the rest of the crew during the trial.
How accurate is Captain Phillips to the real story?
for the most part, Captain Phillips is a remarkably accurate film about an incredibly tense real-world event in recent history. It was also difficult to walk in this regard. With the hijacking taking place in 2009, rather than the distant past like many of Tom Hanks’ WW2 movies, there was no shortage of footage and evidence, so no inaccurate moments in Captain Phillips would have been incredibly obvious.
However, director Paul Greengrass and screenwriter Billy Ray did a commendable job of bringing the true story to the screen. They also managed to resist turning certain aspects of the film, such as the rescue of Richard Phillips by the US. However, while it gets many of the events and details of the hijacking of the Maersk Alabama right, Captain Phillips has also been criticized for her creative liberties in other areas.
The main areas of historical inaccuracy in Captain Phillips Are around his image of the titular captain himself. The character of Tom Hanks was portrayed in a way that painted him as a much more heroic protagonist (in other words, he was transformed into a Tom Hanks character – a presence with a few minor flaws and vulnerabilities, but ultimately incredibly likable for audience. ). The version of Captain Phillips played by Tom Hanks was the anchor for the plot of the story hijacking movie, but was quite different from the real person.
The ship’s crew said Phillips was far less heroic than the movie made him out to be. Some have even claimed that the real Captain Phillips was partly responsible for the danger the crew found themselves in. The type of pirate attack they eventually experienced.
For example, many of the actual crew members of the MAESK ALABAMA Specifically took issue with his refusal to move further off the coast of Somalia instead of staying within 250 miles of it – a known danger hot spot when it comes to maritime trade. Captain Phillips Also added some dialogue Phillips confirmed that he never said, such as his sacrifice to save the crew. There were some additional inconsistencies between Captain Phillips And the real-world hijacking of the Maersk AlabamaBut the true story is still harrowing.
Sources: The Gainesville Sun, CNN, History, Encyclopedia Britannica, The Guardian, BBC, ABC News